The Pharisee
By Lisa
Boyer
“When the
Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a
prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that
she is a sinner.’”
Luke 7:39
(NIV)
A few years ago, I experienced an
“ah-ha” moment while trying to figure out why I
didn’t feel particularly loved by Jesus. At the time, I’d written,
“During my search, I also learned something about me. I felt reprimanded when I
read the Gospels because, honestly, I had always related better to the
Pharisees (priding myself on following the rules) than any of the sinners Jesus
reached out to with love and compassion. I had never wanted anyone to know I
was a sinner…. But when I began aligning myself with the sinners in Scripture, I
was met by His love and compassion.” Since then, I’ve learned a few more
things: I wasn’t the only one with a Pharisee complex and that it’s a
multi-faceted issue… while I had moved past not wanting to admit I was a
sinner, there was more to it than that.
Following that insight, I was at a
women’s conference where the speaker was talking about the fruit of the Spirit,
but rather than saying what they were, she was cleverly giving examples of what
the opposite might be. By the fourth comparison, my heart had sunk so low it
was on the floor. God had brought to mind a particular person I was treating
this way. I had been so disappointed and angry with her choices that I
responded by walking in the flesh. I wasn’t patient...I was frustrated, I
wasn’t kind…I was harsh, I wasn’t loving…I was apathetic. The list goes on, but
I won’t.
While I could look for and possibly
find Bible verses that might support my attitude, the bottom line was that I
was still a Pharisee…self-righteous and judgmental… and I needed to make things
right. It wasn’t going to be a matter of a simple apology; I needed to confess
my sin of walking in the flesh and all that went with it. I left the conference
knowing I had an appointment to make.
It’s costly to behave like a
Pharisee, which is why I need to be intentional in making sure my primary
motivation is love... always love.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Have you been
struggling to act in love towards others? Today, will you go to the Father and
share your struggle with Him?
2. Is there someone you
need to apologize to? Will you take steps to do that now?
FURTHER READING:
Lisa
has been married to Ted for over 20 years and they have two teenage sons. Lisa
administers Fresh Start’s Facebook and blog and serves in Quest 56 on Sunday
mornings at Oakwood.
