Do You Color Outside The Lines?
But, here, I tell you, there is something more important than the temple. If, however, you had been acquainted with the text "I DESIRE MERCY RATHER THAN SACRIFICE," you would not have condemned the innocent.
Matthew 12:6-7 (1901 Holy Bible in Modern English)
There is far more at stake here than "religion". If you had any idea what this Scripture meant--"I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual"-- you wouldn't be nitpicking like this.
Matthew 12:6-7 (2003 The Message)
Ask yourself: when you think of "religion" or "God", what first comes to mind? If your scope of 'religion' is sunday and church, maybe (and i'm just suggesting) you should color outside the lines a little and consider God to be that bum who asks you for gas money, or the lady with the sick relative in the hospital, or the frantic 2am call from someone who just needs an ear, or (you can fill in your last charitable request that you never got back to).
....
Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a sacrifice or a ritual when approached with the right heart. However, if the ritual becomes the only outlet of your belief, that is when you start becoming like the pharisee.
Put another way, if you are too busy fasting to help hand out food to the needy, that says something about your state of mind. How much food have you thrown out because it went out of date this year?
If you spend all your time justifying yourself to men, then in men you've put your trust. If you loudly proclaim all your good works, then you store nothing in heaven, you've already received your reward.
It's been said recently, within your hearing, and loudly: there's lots to do, why are you waiting on God? You know what your mission is, go!
