Sometimes I think that I am better than I am.
My sister, Patti, and I have volunteered all our lives. We would volunteer for church, Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, donate blood, vote, or feed the hungry at a food bank. Even my wife, Anna, was a Hooter’s girl for an afternoon at a baseball game for some charity. No, she didn’t wear the costume. Volunteering has always given me satisfaction and a sense of worth. I sometimes would dread my job or have sick family member, but my volunteering would always give me a sense of self-worth.
Now this not what motivates me, but sometimes I will catch myself being a “Phony Phil “or a Pharisee. There are times when I am pompous and judgmental of others. This is a mental trap that would not last long. Similarly, there are times I feel sanctimonious. “I do so much for others and why don’t they do something for me in my time of need.” Unfortunately, that is not the reason we help others. A true givers heart is one that gives with no expectation of return. A true giver is one that does not seek glory and ensures the glory goes to God. Jesus is talking about the Pharisees, but he is talking about me as well.
There is a good reason this scripture is so important in Lent. Jesus is asking us during this time to affirm the answer to this question:
Do I serve God, or do I serve myself?
Like all people who are not all bad or all good, the Pharisees thought they were serving God. The rituals of the Old Testament and purification ceremonies were supposed to make you holy. They thought they were building the Kingdom of God, but in reality, they were serving their own pride. Luke 17:21-22 Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.”
In my opinion when we have a relationship with Jesus, we can see the Kingdom of God on earth. It is clear that when we serve Him the Kingdom is all around you. The Kingdom of God is a presence and not a visual experience. It exists because we are serving the Lord. We can experience it in Church or helping a neighbor. Matthew 5:23-24 Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. In addition, the Kingdom is about our relationship to others.
The Apostles and the Jewish faithful thought the Kingdom of God would be a physical reign of the Kingship of the Messiah here on Earth. Not sure they realized that it was a door to the Heavenly Kingdom. Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Lent is a time of self-reflection and improving the Kingdom of God in our lives and turning away from the attitudes of the “Phony Phils” in our lives.
Happy Lent! Happy Kingdom!
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Pray for Cancer victims and their Caregivers. Pray for the Salvation and physical and emotional health of the Ukrainian people. Pray for Peace. Pray for the salvation of the Russian people.
