July 16, 2022

Passage Read: Matthew 21-22
Meditation Verses: 21:45-46

Thought

The chief priests and Pharisees knew Jesus was speaking against them, but instead of listening to the rebuke and being convicted, they made plans to entrap Jesus, discredit Him and even kill Him. That is not the response of humility. Humility recognizes it has failings and weaknesses, and carefully considers any accusation against it. If there is truth to the accusation, it makes corrections; if by chance there is no truth whatsoever, then it remains confident in its pursuit of obedience to Christ.

Application

When I hear a word spoken against me, I need to listen carefully to it and consider whether there might be some truth to it, then take action to correct my wrong. If it is God speaking, then for sure there is something I need to correct, but if it is men speaking, there may yet be something I need to correct, though perhaps I'm not near as bad as they make me out to be, but maybe I am. Nevertheless, I need to prayerfully consider if the Lord might be trying to speak through others to point out my own error. Whatever I do, I cannot start a campaign to discredit or destroy the person who rebuked me.