Pharisees

The Pharisees were never trying to be bad guys, they just wanted to make sure they had rules drawn up as a guard so no one could accidentally leave God's morals. Their goal most likely had less to do with legalism and more to do with clarity. 100 simple rules for righteousness. And they did have a good precedent: God himself set up some very specific rules in the law.

But the laws repeated throughout all of Scripture have less to do with actions and more to do with heart. Love the Lord your God. Love your neighbor as yourself. Seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God. Defend the rights of the poor and needy. Care for the orphan and the widow.

Where Jesus and the Pharisees disagreed were when their rules missed the point of God's laws. Resting on the Sabbath does not mean disregarding the needs of others. Washing your hands does not determine the state of your soul. Jesus had some radical teachings, but he also had a lot of common sense when it come to how we should act. We all have an idea of what it means to be a good person, and a lot of it falls fairly squarely into Jesus's instructions. Don't be a hypocrite. Love people regardless of their station in life. But it went beyond that. Love those who hate you. Love God more than yourself, and love all else equally with yourself. Those step beyond the common sense "good" person qualities we have in our minds. Because really, aiming for "goodness" does not mean much until we realize that God is Good. Once God comes front and center, the rest of the Bible and its instructions begin to fall more clearly in place.

But even so, it is tempting to go and "clarify" some teachings by adding guard rules about them (they're like guard rails, but rules). Don't be a Pharisee. If our lives had more honest mistakes and less hypocrisy, if our love had more patience and less conditions, if our mind and hearts focused more on the source of goodness than the technicalities of it, perhaps fewer "good" people would be attacking the church, and instead be drawn to it. Perhaps fewer of the needy would feel like the church hated them, and learn instead how Jesus went to the prostitutes and the tax collectors--the Jews that had betrayed their own people. Perhaps the hurting could see the church as a place of healing. Perhaps we could work together and better act as the body of Christ.

Obedience is key to faith in Christ. But double check what you are obeying: God's word, or the Pharisees' how to book for God's word.

Empathy and Encouragement

Empathy is very important I believe. While I'm not sure I entirely agree with the definition of sympathy in this video, I think it gets the message of empathy across very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw

Empathy is feeling WITH people. Not just trying to patch up their feelings, but understanding their feelings, feeling with them. "What makes something better is connection" says the video, and I believe that. I myself am a very empathetic person, and since it is one of my strengths I want to believe that there is no way empathy can go wrong. Other virtues could be warped, but empathy? Empathy can bring nothing bring nothing but good things, connecting with people is essential, and it is enough...right?

But perhaps empathizing is not always enough. Perhaps sometimes it can make people feel justified in their hurt, and feed darker feelings of bitterness. I'm not saying that we should stop empathizing, but we shouldn't stop with just that. Letting people know they are not alone is important, but so is encouraging them. Yes, it is perfectly normal to be angry and confused when you are hurt. Getting hurt is normal, but growing past the hurt is healthy.

Weep with those who weep. There is a time for mourning, there is a time for pain; let people have that time. Trying to get someone who has fallen and broken their leg to get up and walk right away is cruel and will only hurt them worse. But setting the bone, letting it heal, and being their crutch while the muscle is still returning is a greater kindness than merely relating to their pain. Healing can hurt, but it is a step you should encourage people to take.

Empathy is essential, but perhaps it is not sufficient. Climb down into people's dark places with them like the video said, but pull a Samwise Gamgee and be ready to carry them out if need be. Jesus went out into a world full of pain, bitterness and evil, he befriended the lowest of the low and ventured into the dark corners people are afraid to go, but he brought a light with him. What am I saying, He IS the light.

I know when I'm hurt and people give me advice and try to cheer me up I generally reject them.  But when people have been through my experiences and are willing to hurt with me, I am more likely to look to them for answers once I am ready to move past my mourning stage. Because of their empathy, some people have a greater influence than those who merely have advice. Don't waste that influence. Use it for good.

People need connection. But they also need encouragement. Start with empathy, but don't stop there.

Works vs. Faith: My Understanding of It

"By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." 

Matthew 7:16-17

When you put your faith in Jesus, God essentially changes your nature from being a thornbush to a grapevine. If you keep producing thorns instead of fruit, then something's up. 

What do I mean by thorns?

"Sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like."

Galatians 5:19b-21a

What do I mean by fruit?

"Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control." 

Galatians 5:22-23a

You cannot change your own nature through your actions. Deeds cannot save you. Paul was right when he said: "For it is by grace you are saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." [Ephesians 2:8]. But when God saves us, He remakes us, and consequently that changes our actions. Good works do not come before faith, rather they are a result of faith.

 Before Paul got into clarifying that faith is what comes first, before James got into clarifying that works are not irrelevant, Jesus summed it up pretty nicely: 

"By their fruit you will recognize them."

Matthew 7:20

Just because your deeds cannot save you doesn't mean they don't matter.