Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Cognoscenti (Matthew 23:1-39)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “cognoscenti.”  It is always amazing to me that people can be so stuck in their ways that they refuse to learn.  One of the first principles that I learned when I was in my early leadership training was to always remember that somebody else had a different perspective on whatever it is that I believed.  This was tough for me.  On all of the personality assessments that I had ever taken, and would take following that, I realized it was definitely in my personality to judge both situations and people.  I had to get rid of this way of thinking.  We also see this kind of treatment of others by the Pharisees in the time of Jesus.  Although they knew a lot about religion and law, they lacked what was most important.


“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” ~Matt 23:1-4

My question is: do you follow the principles that you believe deep in your heart?  It was not bad that the Pharisees knew so much about religion and law.  In fact, that was really good.  The problem is that there became some kind of disconnect between what they were learning and how they were living.  The bottom line is, you can be a total cognoscenti in life, and understanding lessons.  But if you do not apply those principles, then it does not really amount to much.  My prayer is that you hold close to your convictions, continue to learn, and above all else make sure that you love others according to God's law.

Praying for you,


MO

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