IT’S UP TO YOU

Matthew 9:14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?

As usual, the Pharisees regularly sought for avenues to put the spotlight on Jesus and today being no exception, they sought to use their own lives and doings as the yardstick with which they expected Jesus to make a comparison.

If there is anything that stands out as a result of the actions of these Pharisees, it was the fact that they had no real reason why they were fasting- it had become to them a mere tradition and ritual that had to be followed. Not just their fasting, but their prayers and almsgiving had no real intent but for the fact that ‘they were expected to follow the law’.

This position is one of the most precarious a believer can find them selves in- at that place where their actions are fuelled not by a burning passion and desire to do, but just as a follow of written down principles and rules. Our acts of worship must not and should not be broken into and viewed as ‘processes’ that need to be done because everybody expects them to- they need to have personal meanings to us.

You can fast, pray and give all you want; but if your actions have no real meaning to you on a personal level, then God might as well turn a blind eye and close his ears as He told Israel(Isaiah 58:5). You have to make sure that behind all your actions, there is a purpose, fueled by a personal conviction.

Remember # In the sight of God, a meaningless show of ‘spirituality’ is an unnecessary trademark.