Lost Focus
Jesus confronted some moral religious leaders.
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.”
Matthew 23:23 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.23.23.NLT
These were not what we would call bad men. Today, they would be seen as the “Pillars” of our churches, denominations, and seminaries. The Problem? They had lost their focus.
They had focused on the trivia, the minutiae. The details of their religion and forgot the big things like “Justice, Mercy, and Faith”.
They were spiritually small men who focused on the smaller aspects of their religion. It takes Spiritually big men to focus on the things God focuses on, such as “Justice, Mercy, and Faith”.
When they began to focus on the smaller things, Satan had won and perverted their religion into an idol.
Could it happen to Christianity? Look and see what the controversies in the various denominations and churches are about today. Most are on side issues. I know they see them as major. The question is, how does Jesus see them?
When we focus on side issues, we lose sight of the major issues such as the sins of systemic injustice, mercy to marginalized parts of society, and turn to a superficial faith rather than a trans-formative one.
The denomination that I spent most of my life involved in seems to have made the gender of pastors, which faction is in charge of the denomination, and politics its major concerns. Not bad men and women. Just people who have lost their focus
All the while, our world and nation are facing “big” issues that need addressing. Instead of focusing on issues that primarily affect ourselves and our own denomination, let’s focus on those issues that impact others. Who preached at the church across town last Sunday is not going to change many lives. Children going hungry in our nation and around the world when we have the resources to alleviate it is. People being oppressed is a major issue. Innocents being killed and maimed by war and persecution are major issues.
I remember the Civil Rights days. While our nation was torn apart over who was created in the Image of God, we stayed silent. Incidentally, we have never truly addressed that issue.
That was not the only time our voice was muted while our world and nation were rocked by big issues.
Look around our world needs the clear light of the Gospel, not us bickering over minor issues.
We have lost our focus.