Today, I spent some time looking for physics PhD jobs to no avail. Then I started thinking about what why I am striving - to somehow create security, that our family is set, no problems, no needs. I was then reminded of the passage in which Jesus talks about the wealthy man, who stores up his excess in his barn, thinking to himself that he will be good to go for many years. "You fool," God says, "since this day your very life will be taken from you." Thus we ought to store up our treasures in heaven...

This is what the Lord says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord. [Jeremiah 9:23-24]

What if we(I) let go of all the striving for this world and just concentrate on knowing and understanding the Lord? What does that mean? What would it be like? Sometimes we conjour up images of going to far away places on a grand mission, and yet even that is not understanding and knowing the Lord.

Boy, I'm tired. Before going on to today's reading, I think I will take a look at the assignment for next week's Colossians study (before I lose the assignment sheet). [Matthias, is that a good name for a son?]

Colossians 3:5-11

1. Therefore
   1. consider members of your earthly body as dead to
      1. immorality
      2. impurity
      3. passion
      4. evil desire
      5. greed (which amounts to idolatry)
      6. for it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come
      7. and in them you once walked, when you were living in them.

But now you also, put them all aside:

1. anger
2. wrath
3. malice
4. slander
5. abusive speech from your mouth
6. lying to one another
   1. since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices
   2. and have put on the new self
      1. who is being renewed to a true knowledge
      2. according to the image of the One who create him
      3. a renewal in which there is no distinction between
      4. Greek and Jew
      5. circumcised and uncircumcised
      6. barbarian, Scythian
      7. slave and freeman
      8. but Christ is in all.

Matthew 23: The Seven Woes

Tonight's reading is from Matthew 23. Jesus, after telling his disciples not to be like the Pharaisees, proceeds with seven "woes".

To teachers of the law and the Pharaisees, hypocrites:

1. Through their actions and teachings, they prevent people from entering into the kingdom of heaven, and they themselves do not enter.
2. They were so focused on converting people. However, they converted people to be twice the "sons of hell" they are.
3. They were so extreme in the rules as to give also a tenth of their spices, but in showing compassion, justice, faithfulness, they were negligent, when these were even more important (though not that the other should not have been practiced.)
4. They observe ceremonial cleaniness for the outside of bowls and yet their insides are dirty with greed and self-indulgence.
5. They are like "white washed tombs", beautiful outside, but full of decay inside. That is, they appear to everyone as being righteous, but inside they are not.
6. They builds tombs and decorate graves of the prophets and the righteous, claiming that if they had lived in those times, they would not have shed their blood. In reality, they are of the same attitude and will end up doing the same.

To blind guides (presumably the same group):

1. They distinguished between swearing on the temple and swearing on it's gold, sweearing by the alter and swearing by the gift on it. But it is God's temple and God's altar, so that is what of value.

So what does this all mean? In this chapter Jesus is telling his disciples not to be like the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, in otherwords, the religious elite. Why not? Because, though they appeared to be righteous, they were actually not, and led others down the wrong path (that is, to be just like them.

Do these woes apply to me? Every Sunday, I faithfully go to church. I attend Sunday School, and try to participate. I try to share the gospel with my friends. Yet, inside, I am imperfect, though, I probably hide it more than my friends. In that sense, I am hypocritical. All have sinned though, and the flesh continues to war with the spirit, so in that sense, as much as we try to appear righteous, we will always by hypocrites.

There are several points here, but I think the main one is not to do things for people to see. "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Going backwards to the woes, we can rewrite them to how we ought to behave:

1. Enter into the kingdom of heaven, and bring others.
2. Don't lead others to be focused on outside righteousness. (This is quite tricky - as many perceive that this is what Christianity is about. Not doing this or that. Praying out loud in meals. But in reality, it is about our insides.
3. Acknowledge God.
4. Work on cleaning out greed and self-indulgence instead of trying to look good to everyone.
5. Same as previous.
6. Listen to those that God sends.

But how do we clean ourselves? It can only come from introspection and prayer. There is still greed, there is still lust for the values of this world, for money, for sex, for power. Instead, Jesus calls for a servant heart. That is the struggle. "The greatest among you will be our servant."