Matthew 23:1-12

Be still: Lord, as I make space for you today, would you bring stillness to my heart and mind and prepare my soul to hear a fresh word from you today. Amen

Read: Matthew 23:1-12

Everything they do is done for people to see: they make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the market-places and to be called “Rabbi” by others. (vv5-7)

Encounter: When was the last time that someone had the courage to point out to you something about your character that wasn’t very much like Jesus? As uncomfortable as those conversations can be, the people who are prepared to be honest with us can be some of our greatest guardians against hypocrisy. Jesus, as these verses show, takes hypocrisy in his followers seriously, and in leaders even more seriously.

However, if we’re honest, many of us avoid (either through our passivity or intentionality) those that may be willing to speak candidly into our lives. But, if we want to grow in the likeness of Christ, we desperately need people around us that we know and trust, who have permission to speak into our lives.

I’m fortunate enough to have several of those kinds of friends. But each of those relationships has taken time, effort, and mutual vulnerability. Do you have friends in your life that know that they have your permission to speak into your life? 

If there was anyone who took these kinds of friendships seriously, it was the Wesley brothers who, together with some other young men, met regularly as part of their ‘Holy Club’ between 1729 and 1735 to ask each other twenty-two questions. These questions included questions like, ‘Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?’ Ouch.

Apply: Take a moment to consider whether you have relationships like the ones I have described. When was the last time you invited a friend to speak honestly and candidly into your life?

Devote: Lord, thank you that you give us the gift of honest friends. Help me to actively seek out relationships that will sharpen me and mould me into your image. And help me to be the same for others.