Matthew 23 contains one of my favorite verses of the Bible. Nothing hits harder than a critique from Christ in verse 27: “Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.” On the outside, the Pharisees were doing everything right. Yet, in their hearts, they were full of selfishness and pride - wolves in sheeps clothing. Despite all their religious rituals, performance, and dress they couldn’t even see the Messiah standing in front of them. Part of me thinks it’s because they were so blinded by their own pride to see that Jesus was the Messiah, but another part of me thinks that they knew that if what Jesus was saying was true that they would lose much of the power they had worked so hard to create. It helps remind me that oftentimes God isn’t asking you to not do this or to do that, but where is your heart? Can you even hear me? If I was standing in front of you, would you recognize me? Or would you be blinded by your pride? Your stuff? Your other gods?

I remember yielding this verse against people who would critique me. It always felt good to find something about them that was “wrong” or sinful so that I could know I was better than them. In reality, I was walking around with a giant log in my eye and every time someone tried to point it out, I would gripe about the spec on their own. I was justifying my sin via the faults of others. “Well, at least I don’t do that!” Or, “Well, at least I don’t watch that!”

Oftentimes we think we are the main character in our walk of faith. We think everyone else plays the person with the log in their eye, evil Pharaoh, or the hypocritical Pharisee. When in reality, God is trying to show us we are those people. Not in a condemning way, but a loving way. A way that says, you once were like this, but you no longer have to be. I have come to fix everything. Stop trusting in yourself, in your rituals, in your status. I have made them all useless. I am your purpose.