"What Do Your Actions Preach?" (Matthew 23:1-12)
"...do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach." (Matthew 23:3)
What does this verse mean to you? When you read the bible, God's word, what does it teach you? What do you learn about who God is? What do you learn about who God thinks you are? What do you learn about ways to live your life? Do you learn how to practice what you've read, what you want your life to say about the truths you've read?
Do you read how God is gracious, forgiving, patient, slow to anger and abounding in love? Do you read how you and I are God's special possession, that you are lavishly loved as one of God's children, you are more precious to God than you know? Do you read how we are called to live like Christ with grace, forgiveness, patience, humility and love for others? Do you read how you can practice these truths in your life so that others can see and know what God's word says through you? Do you learn how to practice (how to live) what you preach?
When you read the truths of God's word you should be reading with the mind set to practice among others what you read, what you believe is true and what you see God calling you to live out in your own life? The Pharisees in Matthew 22 struggled to live out the truth of God's words, what they preached as truth. The reason they struggled was because of pride. They wanted to look good on the outside even if it meant that inwardly the ugliness of pride stained their hearts and minds. Man looks and gives mind to the outward appearance but God looks upon the heart, the inward. God desires to see the truth set into our hearts and move our outward actions, our lives, to reflect Him.
We live in a day and age where we can spend time reading the truths of the bible and then the next minute going on Facebook or any other social media outlet and being bashing and arguing with people over foolishness. We lack the grace and love that fills the pages of the bible. We don't practice what we preach to ourselves as truth. Christ spoke the truth in love with people all the time but he also knew when to keep quiet because it wasn't worth the argument and he was out to win souls for the Kingdom not arguments.
As Christians I want to encourage each of us to spend time reading the bible and then seek to preach the truths by living it out in our lives. To let the love of God shine in us so we preach with our lives the truths of who God is and what he really means to us. That means we must humble ourselves and put God's interests above our own.
Let's all make a commitment to practice the truths that we have read and let our lives speaks boldly, in love, for the Lord.
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