In all honesty, are you a Pharisee?

So it's leading up to Easter at the moment (obiously), and Easter is a really important time for me - because it's when I rededicated my life to Christ three years ago. Now granted, I wasn't away from Jesus long... He has this habit of not leaving you alone! But I did blame Him for the spiritual abuse I experienced - which is silly because frankly, it wasn't His fault and grieved Him just as much as it grieved me! But I digress...

I've been thinking about Easter, an in particular Lent. Our Self-Denial appeal has fallen at the same time as Lent this year, and so as a church we've been encouraging people to give the money they save from what they give up to The Salvation Army's work in developing countries. Now I'm a big fan of the Self-Denial appeal - or more likely what it was once called - OWSMS (One Week Salary on Missionary Sunday) - as I believe that for the average-church-goer, it's a good opportunity to force them to think about the third world. I love that.

Personally, I don't actually give One Week's Salary on Missionary Sunday - instead, I give money throughout the year to various devleoping country projects. For me, I find this works - and means that I end up giving more than I would at OWSMS... this will probably change as I marry and have children, but while I am single, it means that I "deny" myself throughout the year, and remain focussed outside of my own little bubble.

I guess my biggest gripe at the moment, is people who give the money for Self Denial, and think that's it. That they've done their good deed for the year, and that is that, they are a good Christian. The rest of the year, they can ignore the needs of the poor and broken, because they've given their weeks salary and so the poor and the broken are looked after. Now as I said - I love the Self-Denial appeal, and honestly believe that it does serve a wonderful purpose in forcing people to look at their privaleged lives. My problem actually lies when these people look at their privaleged lives, make their donations, and then get into their nice cars, drive to their nice homes, and buy their $2000 Prada handbag. Now there is nothing wrong with having nice things. That's not what I'm saying. But do we really NEED $2000 handbags? Do we really NEED $100 shoes? Or diamonds? Or the best stereo or ipod or gameboy or the rest? And do we actually believe that when we have all those things, God is impressed with our one weeks salary on missionary Sunday?

Perhaps rather than looking at comparing ourselves to the Disciples - we should start comparing ourselves to the Pharisees? Ouch right? Harsh huh? But is it a little bit fair? I mean, they genuinely thought they were Holy and Religious people, but Jesus came and tried to turn that thinking upside down. Those disciples - they gave up EVERYTHING to follow Jesus - ALL their worldly goods, their homes, their families, their friends, their jobs. But the Pharisees lived a seemingly religious lives - absolutely giving their 10%. Perhaps giving more. But their lives did not reflect a life of servanthood and sacrifice. I admit - there are times in my life that I am a Pharisee, not a disciple. But I want to change that. I don't want to be a Pharisee. I want my heart to break for that which God's heart breaks. And the reality is, God's heart - it breaks for injustice.

Isaiah 58 is one of my favourite passages in the Bible. I love The Message Translation of it (though the New Living and NIV are also good) where it says:

1-3 "Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!
Tell my people what's wrong with their lives,
face my family Jacob with their sins!
They're busy, busy, busy at worship,
and love studying all about me.
To all appearances they're a nation of right-living people—
law-abiding, God-honoring.
They ask me, 'What's the right thing to do?'
and love having me on their side.
But they also complain,
'Why do we fast and you don't look our way?
Why do we humble ourselves and you don't even notice?'

3-5"Well, here's why:
"The bottom line on your 'fast days' is profit.
You drive your employees much too hard.
You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.
You fast, but you swing a mean fist.
The kind of fasting you do
won't get your prayers off the ground.
Do you think this is the kind of fast day I'm after:
a day to show off humility?
To put on a pious long face
and parade around solemnly in black?
Do you call that fasting,
a fast day that I, God, would like?

6-9"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'


I believe that when we, The Salvation Army, get it right again - when we have an Army FILLED TO THE BRIM of Justice fighters, of people who understand the Upside-down Kingdom - then we will see revival, breakthough and churches bursting at the seams. But until we get that right, we'll continue to struggle along - constantly trying the latest fads but not actually seeing all that much eternal growth.

So my question to you - Do you want to be a Disciple or a Pharisee?