LUKE 12:2 EXPOSED

EXPOSED

Luke 12:1b-3 (MSG) He said to them,

“Watch yourselves carefully so you don’t get contaminated with Pharisee yeast,

Pharisee phoniness.

You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed.

You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip

and your true face will be known.

You can’t whisper one thing in private

and preach the opposite in public;

the day’s coming when those whispers

will be repeated all over town.”

Jesus was speaking primarily to His own disciples, but that category includes you and me. In the previous chapter of Luke Jesus had just railed on the Pharisees and Scribes about their hypocrisy. They were supposed to be the religious leaders of the Jews, the examples to follow; but Jesus warned His disciples not to follow their example. Imagine if Jesus came today to say not to follow your preachers and teachers. Come to think of it, He might say just that about some of them. However, we are all supposed to be imitators of Jesus, exemplifying His love and grace. Therefore, we cannot point our fingers at televangelists with whom we disagree.  Note that we are not to be known for our holier than thou nitpicky adherence to every tradition or even every rule. When our focus, our inward motivation, is the two greatest commandments, people will see Jesus in us. What are those commandments?

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

A person might be good at fooling people with a bright smile and pleasant words, but no one can fool God. One can observe laws and traditions, but inwardly be nasty. People think they can get away with saying one thing to your face and another behind your back. However, Jesus reminds us that God knows and sees all and eventually will reveal all to others. This was not a new concept:

Numbers 32:23b . . . ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.

Remember when you were little and your mother always seemed to know when you had done something wrong even when no sibling had tattled? She seemed to have eyes in the back of her head and ears that could hear three rooms away. We can be sure that God’s eyes and ears are keener than Mom’s. He knows not only our actions but our inner motivations. It’s better to do a heart check on yourself now than to have all exposed by God later. This verse may help you decide to examine yourself:

Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.