I enjoyed a fantastic men’s Bible study this morning, talking about prayer, and how to pray. This study uses the ACTS method: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.
During the study, one of the men asked a question which led into us NOT being like the Sadducees or Pharisees. Once again, my mind started rolling.
In the children’s song: “I just wanna be a sheep (ba ba ba ba)” Two of the verses are:
I don’t want to be a Pharisee… because they’re not “fair you see,” and
I don’t want to be a Sadducee… because they are “sad you see.”
The reality is neither of them were fair, and both of them were sad (in teenager speak). I thought of how much I am really like them… and as we analyze ourselves… many of us are.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were Israel’s religious leaders. They did the “holier than thou” thing better than most people we know, and were criticized by Jesus himself as being “whitewashed tombs.”
And I think that de facto, I must look the same way to my family and many people I know who don’t know Jesus. After all, I am a leader… in my family, and around others. I do study the scriptures… do they? I should be able to give an account for what I believe and live by… do I? I should be more humble than other people (because I know what Jesus has done for me)… nonetheless my pride gets in the way. And yet I am no better than they are… but do I project that on others?
Provided you have the right shepherd (Jesus), I think it’s a lot safer to be a sheep (ba ba ba ba).
