The wall of fire
This week is on Matthew 15:12-14:
Jesus told some uncomfortable truths around the Pharisees. Sometimes the truth can be upsetting if we're not ready to receive it. The disciples were worried about the Pharisees being angry, but Jesus put their response in perspective.
I love how the Bible describes these sort of subtle things about human nature. People get angry when they encounter the truth sometimes. If we're emotionally invested in a belief, whether it's religious or political, or sometimes neither, contradictory facts can make us panic. I can't explain the psychology behind it, but I've seen it too many times. There's a lot of truth behind the advice not to bring up religion or politics as dinner conversation!
But when we become emotionally attached to a belief, we often become blinded to the real truth. Scientists talk about dogma in their research departments, where presenting certain findings can cause you to be cut off from funding and attacked by other researchers. And that's science! Imagine the reactions of people in less rigorous fields. But how is science supposed to advance if there are things you can't talk about, or areas you can't study. We'd still believe the earth is flat if everyone behaved like that.
And so here Jesus shared some truths which challenged the dogma supported by the Pharisees. But instead of being like "wow we never thought of it that way" or "let me think about that," they exploded in rage. The disciples saw them as their leaders and were worried about them being offended. "Oh no, you've offended the wrong people now!"
But Jesus wasn't afraid. He pointed out that to the extent that the Pharisees were blinded to receiving the truth, people shouldn't follow them. Someone who refuses correction, who refuses the truth, is dangerous. Following someone like that will pull you off course and you will fall and get hurt. Everything that isn't based on the truth will eventually be pulled up by the roots anyway. So there's no reason to be afraid of someone like that because they won't last.
We shouldn't be afraid to speak the truth out of fear of offending people. To be "politically correct" is to give power to people who are offended by the truth. They throw up a wall of fiery rage in the hopes that we'll keep our truth to ourselves. But it's not the truth that's morally wrong, but the person who suppresses it. Jesus calls them blind guides. That's not a compliment!
It's easy to look at the people we disagree with, or at the Pharisees of the Bible, and think these verses are just for them. Every religious Christian loves to shake their fist and be all like "Blah blah blah, the Pharisees!" But what about us? Are there topics we find ourselves getting angry about? Stuff we can't have conversations about without raising our voices and shouting people down? "problem verses" in the Bible we flip quickly past? Have we put up walls of our own?
We live in a world where people are offended even if someone notices their gender or weight or race or any number of obvious undeniable traits. "How dare you assign a pronoun to me!" But what about when someone notices something obvious about us? Am I really arrogant? Selfish? Bitter? Short-tempered? Impulsive? Dim-witted? Weak? Name your trait. And yet, like Pharisees, we fly into the same rage. "How dare you put that on me!"
We're blind and easily uprooted without an acceptance of the truth. We have eyes but can't always see, and ears but can't always hear. We're blind guides who don't realize how blind we are, but are all too eager to try to lead others to follow where we think they should go. Be careful when you find yourself in that position, because nobody wants to end up in the pit.
Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Jesus told some uncomfortable truths around the Pharisees. Sometimes the truth can be upsetting if we're not ready to receive it. The disciples were worried about the Pharisees being angry, but Jesus put their response in perspective.
I love how the Bible describes these sort of subtle things about human nature. People get angry when they encounter the truth sometimes. If we're emotionally invested in a belief, whether it's religious or political, or sometimes neither, contradictory facts can make us panic. I can't explain the psychology behind it, but I've seen it too many times. There's a lot of truth behind the advice not to bring up religion or politics as dinner conversation!
But when we become emotionally attached to a belief, we often become blinded to the real truth. Scientists talk about dogma in their research departments, where presenting certain findings can cause you to be cut off from funding and attacked by other researchers. And that's science! Imagine the reactions of people in less rigorous fields. But how is science supposed to advance if there are things you can't talk about, or areas you can't study. We'd still believe the earth is flat if everyone behaved like that.
And so here Jesus shared some truths which challenged the dogma supported by the Pharisees. But instead of being like "wow we never thought of it that way" or "let me think about that," they exploded in rage. The disciples saw them as their leaders and were worried about them being offended. "Oh no, you've offended the wrong people now!"
But Jesus wasn't afraid. He pointed out that to the extent that the Pharisees were blinded to receiving the truth, people shouldn't follow them. Someone who refuses correction, who refuses the truth, is dangerous. Following someone like that will pull you off course and you will fall and get hurt. Everything that isn't based on the truth will eventually be pulled up by the roots anyway. So there's no reason to be afraid of someone like that because they won't last.
We shouldn't be afraid to speak the truth out of fear of offending people. To be "politically correct" is to give power to people who are offended by the truth. They throw up a wall of fiery rage in the hopes that we'll keep our truth to ourselves. But it's not the truth that's morally wrong, but the person who suppresses it. Jesus calls them blind guides. That's not a compliment!
It's easy to look at the people we disagree with, or at the Pharisees of the Bible, and think these verses are just for them. Every religious Christian loves to shake their fist and be all like "Blah blah blah, the Pharisees!" But what about us? Are there topics we find ourselves getting angry about? Stuff we can't have conversations about without raising our voices and shouting people down? "problem verses" in the Bible we flip quickly past? Have we put up walls of our own?
We live in a world where people are offended even if someone notices their gender or weight or race or any number of obvious undeniable traits. "How dare you assign a pronoun to me!" But what about when someone notices something obvious about us? Am I really arrogant? Selfish? Bitter? Short-tempered? Impulsive? Dim-witted? Weak? Name your trait. And yet, like Pharisees, we fly into the same rage. "How dare you put that on me!"
We're blind and easily uprooted without an acceptance of the truth. We have eyes but can't always see, and ears but can't always hear. We're blind guides who don't realize how blind we are, but are all too eager to try to lead others to follow where we think they should go. Be careful when you find yourself in that position, because nobody wants to end up in the pit.
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