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PROUD TO BE RIGHT

A significant part of Jesus' ministry on earth was in the form of challenging debates with wise people of the time. For example, when a woman committed adultery, Jesus was challenged into an argument about the Law. "'Teacher,' they said to Jesus, 'this woman was caught in adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?'" (John 8:4 NLT) The Pharisees were sure to be right about that one!

But the price the Pharisees paid to be right turned out to be a high one when they had to walk away in shame (John 8:9). You see, even the word of God can be modified to feed a prideful attitude. In Mark 7, Jesus seems to have had enough of these kinds of arguments. He brings the Pharisees to the core of the matter: "Jesus replied, 'You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.''" (Mark 7:6-7 NLT) He went even further by saying that they "cancel the word of God" (v 13) to be right.

Followers of Christ may easily fall into the same pride trap as the Pharisees. While we struggle to establish good values and absolute truth in an increasingly fluid society, we must be careful not to lose what is important. "An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars." (Proverbs 18:19 NLT)

Do you have strong beliefs about absolute truth and biblical values? How do you communicate your convictions with others?

Let us be careful when guiding others in the truths of the Bible. Let us remember the most important truth of all, God is love. "Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out." (1 Corinthians 13:5-6 NLT)