Don't be a Pharisee - 'cause they're no fair you see

School starts soon, and with that, the chance for young people to be part of changing their culture. However, of course, this past has tips for anyone who is trying to let God use them to bring revival - or even who is just trying to figure this world out. :-) (This will also soon appear on the blog of the ministry I volunteer with, too, focusing more on Youth Leader Training Institute.)

School brings fond memories to some. However, it's very stressful for today's youth. I noted in this post that young people can certainly change the world by trusting the Lord to guide and help them do it. This will focus more on another problem related to one of the stresses mentioned: Pharisees.It is a problem which hampers society in a few ways, and which we who follow the Lord need to avoid.

The Pharisee problem must be seen with the background of Jesus' teaching, of course. He taught that they weren't perfect because of what was wrong with their hearts. They were too quick to criticize when, for instance, Jesus healed people on the Sabbath. Anyone was allowed to do what was necessary on the Sabbath. They just wanted to appear righteous by not working, and that meant they didn't even want God to work. (I suspect, for instance, that someone like Josephus, a great historian of his time, would have noticed and mentioned it if no babies were ever born on the Sabbath. But, they were.) The Pharisees' system went against God's absolute right and wrong which has existed since the foundation of the world.

It's great to know the Lord so He can help you through the rough times and to help you celebrate in the good and bad times. We all need this whatever our environment. That's wonderful and important. It should cause us to want to help others out of compassion and kindness and all those good things, too. This is so we can not only help them trust the Lord to save them and make the world better, but also so we can please God. However, we shouldn't please God because we have to; He doesn't force us. We should please Him because we want to, because of what He has done for us.

Pharisees wanted to please people and not God. It can be a daily struggle for some, because it is tempting to be just like the world in how people talk, treat others, etc.. The Bible, on the other hand, says "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind..."(Rom. 12:2) In other words, let God help you (transforming from the inside out) be kinder, more loving, more compassionate, and so on.

. This can be easy for some, too; some people are naturally more able to reach out to those who need a friend, ignore cliques, and so on. Either way, there are two problems that need to be watched out for so we can follow the Lord and make a difference in our schools, homes, communities, etc..

The first problem is that the need for compassion has not stopped people today from being pharisaic. Second, it may seem odd to say that pleasing people can be done selfishly, but true compassion means not always doing what the world says(like when the world says to lie or cheat). True compassion sometiems means standing for what's right and understanding consequences, too.

Learning to show compassion

Learning to show and have compassion - not just pretend to - is one of the keys to bringing change through repentance revival to this country. We can't just talk about it or go through the motions. Constant testing, which ignores individual learning styles and special needs, as noted in the first post I linked, is just one of the ways modern Pharisees act. Hence, the problems of the Pharisees will help young people understand the modern world.

There has always been tendency to focus on the outside because of human nature. For instance, people feel attraction based on looks and not on the person inside. That, of course, goes against what the Bible says. There are four different types of love in Greek, and they become much deeper and more important as they consider more of the inside and what one can give and become more lasting. Only looking at the outside is focusing on what one can get, like when one says "I love pizza." We don't want to dedicate our lives to helping pizza, we want to eat it and it tastes good to us. This is why modern-day Pharisees aren't thinking of trying to help people as much as they are glorifying themselves. (And, in many things, teachers are caught in the middle, so please have compassion on them and don't be upset at them for how the system is. They are often struggling with it themselves, when "teacher evalutation" should be based on patience, kindness, understanding, and things like that - things on the inside.)

In other areas, too, you can probably see how too much focus on one's self causes so much trouble when we should be thinking of others. Everyone is special to someone, as this discusses. Often, when we focus on others we end up worrying less about our own problems.

The Pharisees only thought of being in the right clique and others doing everything the way they wanted. When they cared about others, it was only so they could have everyone look at them. This isn't just a school problem - although what clique you were in in school won't matter one bit once you leave - it is a problem with society, too. Man looketh on the outward appearance, but like God looketh upon the heart.(1 Samuel 16:7.)

So, as shown in a number of places, one key to revival is looking on the heart. Jesus criticized the Pharisees even though they claimed to be doing God's will - prayer for instance won't work if there's something between that person and God. However, thankfully, reconciliation is just a single, sincere prayer away. Anyway, Jesus reproved them that they should have been focused on doing what God wanted and caring for others for those other peoples' sake. Our society needs changed by people turning to the Lord.

It's up to us to be examples of Jesus, letting our lights sine, so people will believe when we tell them how God changes us on the inside and works in us.

Receive God's compassion and forgiveness

Jesus loves you no matter who you are, and no matter what you have done. He showed Godly compassion because He was God in flesh. He died to take the punishment for our sins and rose from the dead. Thankfully, each of us only needs to call on Him by faith to be saved from our sin.

God did this because God is personal. He wants a relationship with each of us, to give us peace that passes understanding, perfect wisdom, and so much more. He'll help you be more loving and caring and compassionate. He wants to help you through all the problems of life and help you to make this world better, so that others can see Christ's love as well.

That's because there is a penalty for sin. That penalty is separation from God forever in a horrible place that He does not want you to go. He created it only for the devil and his angels(Matt. 25:41), but people choose to go there when they fully reject His love and forgiveness. We all need changed on the inside. That is what happens when you call on Jesus by faith to be saved from your sin and made new inside. You need to invite him into your heart to make you new. Then, He comes to live in you through the Holy Spirit. You can call on Him to forgive you and save you from your sin and make you new right here reading this, in fact;a person doesn't have to be in church.

Showing Godly compassion, not the false kind

This, then, brings us to that second problem I mentioned. You may have thought I forgot about it, but I did want to bring up the false compassion that some show. It is false compassion for the same reason that not warning someone of a hot stove is false compassion. We can pretend that stove is not hot, and there is no problem. However, that does not stop the stove from being hot. It does not prevent us from getting burned if we touch it.

In the same way, there is a false compassion which is part of the world's system.

God's system, as shown here, is far better than the world's system. The world's system doesn't see each persont he way God does, because God sees each individual as important. However, God's system is also different because it says that it's important to say that sin is sin.

We should love sinners but we have to accept that there are things that God says our sin such as lying, cheating, bullying, and so on. Indeed, some of these Pharisees of today are more like the first part when it comes to bullying, too; they talk about it but they don't really stop the bullies.  (Of course, in many ways, they can't, becasue it's a heart problem. And, at other times, being kind to them and teaching them how to be nice is needed because the bully has never known how. We should help others overcome such difficult lives, and that starts by helping them see they are special to God and to others.)

We love sinners by kindly warning them that sin has consequences. After all, people need to be saved from their sin and that means they need to realize they need a savior. And, that Saviour died to save them, and rose again. Trusting Him to save us, calling on Him to forgive us, is all that is needed. We can't get to Heaven by our own works, only by what Jesus did for us.

Indeed, the fact that we can't work our way to Heaven is a wonderful thing that unites us all. God does not want us to boast of how we got there. From the person who did the most throughout their lives to the person who thought he was good enough and then got saved right at the end, to the child who was too young to understand and so never was able to trust in Jesus but who got there because of the cross, and many others, all are equal. All get to Heaven only because of what Jesus did, and then trusting in what Jesus did by calling on him by faith to save them.

We go around telling people that we are sinners too, not just that they are, but we serve a greater Saviour. Our Testimony should include how God has redeemed us and is working in us.

In so doing, we learn things like how Muslims believe sonship is about physical relations when it is not, and that therefore they have a misconception which we can politely help clear up, because of course it is good to help people have more understanding. Sonship is the Arabic IBN, which means a perfect likeness, as this explains in part, because Jesus was God in flesh. He was not born of Joseph and Mary,  He was born of the Holy Spirit.

It is things like this that help to show true compassion. We need to realize that since other people matter, we need to be willing to say that sin has consequences and then turn away from that sin so that other people aren't hurt by those sins. A person who thinks adultery has no consequences, or should have no consequences, is having no concern for any person who they are hurting. And, sometimes we must be the ones to say that sin is wrong and either do things to prevent such sin (such as protecting people from those who would lie about certain things to fulfill their own lusts) or enforce consequences at times.

After all, in God's perfect Heaven there can be no sin, because there is no pain, no suffering, no tears, no heartache, nothing bad can happen. So, He must keep sin out of Heaven.

Thankfully, He has made a way for us to get to Heaven. We warn people of the consequences so they can get there too, but also to make this world a better place.

Actions Must Speak Louder

However, we must act, too, not just talk. Living the correct way doesn't help if we aren't also helping others by being nice, thoughtful, etc.. If we are to have Revival and change this country, we must stop being like the Pharisees. We must realize that the inside is what matters. We must also, however, stand for what is right. As I have noted before, we must repent for not standing against certain evils sooner, and start to take positive stands agaisnt such thigns as domestic violence, which is clearly against God's Word, praying that the Lord will change hearts and stop it.

We must also be known for what we are for, not just what we are against, and that means the love and forgiveness and sound doctrine that the Bible shows. After all, many places, like this, show that the Bibleis truly reliable and trustworthy; we can trust that it is the Word of God. If there are problems it is becasue the wrong Greek is used - stick witht he King James from the Antiochan Greek, as other English ones are from the Alexandrian.

It starts with each of us. We should all endeavor, whether in school or wherever we are, to care about others the way God does. We should love others no matter what and help those who need help. We should be friends to those who seem to lack friends or have trouble making them. We should make sure that things that people call Biblical really are, and that they aren't just being Pharisees.

However, we should also recognize the absolute truth which God established and which should guide all of us. That truth of being honest, kind, gentle, and so many more things. Use the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 and seek God's help to build them up more in you. Focus on those good thoughts of Philippians 4 8. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32. And many other things.

Of course, we need God's help to do this. We need Him to save us if we are not and then to change us on the inside. That means a continual transformation, continual action from the outside by God who loves us and wants the best for us, to help us get rid of those things that so easily beset us.(Heb. 12:1) We struggle with our sin nature. Even those who behave very well all the time can struggle with pride and such. But by trusting God to work in us, and praying for Him to do so and to work in others, we can see Him move in our lives and in our nation.

The "good thoughts" to focus on for a better world (Phil.4:8)

God gives us lots of great things to think about and look forward to when we know Him. We should be the most joyous people of all. This is why I've said we must focus on the positive and share what we are for,  not just what we oppose. The world loves to be negative, but we have a message of unconditional love to give people.

As stated before, God doesn't want to ruin our fun. God wants to enhance it. Jesus came that we might have life and life more abundantly.(John 10:10) So, when God's Word gives a list of things to think about, he is showing he wants us to have the maximum possible true enjoyment, not the false joy of the devils things.

This is why at the end he lets it all out in Philippians 4:8. If there is any virtue at all, if there is any praise at all, go ahead and think about these things. There are so many things that are wholesome, good-natured, and so on, which we can focus on.

Of course, we did not always do this effectively. However, society was much more wholesome way back when, and when we are committed to calling on the Lord to heal our broken country in repentance revival, He will help us and save us. But we should do our part in working to focus on the things mentioned and trust Him to help us to continue to do so, to be our strength when we struggle..

This is only one reason why Philippians 4:8 is so helpful. The importance of the thinds mentioned for a repentance revival will be apparent. These are things it can be hard, with our fleshly nature, to focus on ourselves, especially with the world so filled with the opposites. Yet, with God's help we can, and as we fill our hearts with them more it will be easier.

The verse starts with "finally." What came before is important but this starts a new thought. God the Holy Spirit inspired this to be written so we could see that by focusing on the items we would really benefit. These things help create the peace that passes understanding of the previous verse, the confidence that "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me," and so on because we focus on them. (As I've mentioned, using the terms in the KJV)

The first listed to think on is whatsoever things are true. It is wonderful to know that in all the problems of this world, there is absolute truth you can rely on. There is absolute love, for instance, unconditional love that we know God has for us. Then, there are facts such as this: You are fearfully and wonderfully made. What a great truth to think about when tempted to compare yourself to someone else. Our looks are fleeting, but God looks at the heart and He can help you to have a heart that is more loving, kind, gentle, and many other wonderful things.

Indeed, to have that peace that passes understanding, we can focus on that promise and many other promises that God has for us when we trust in Him. The world tries to tell us to conform to it and its standards with all the vulgarity and meanness and cruelty. however, we know we can focus on God and His Word and be sure of His truth. Being honest, not cheating, putting others first, and so on will pay off even if such things don't right away.

Things which are honest are listed next as things to think about. What is the difference between that and things that are true? The "true" part focused more on absolutes like I discussed above and on God's promises. "Honest" refers to personal honesty, not deceiving people but always being a person of your word. Lying and cheating have become far too common in society, and we should be different. As we pray for God to heal this nation - and this is one big area where it must begin with us - the Holy Spirit will convict more and more people in their consciences, even the unsaved, and society will be more honest, forthright, etc..

The next part, whatsoever things are just, reminds me of a few other posts on how we have neglected to do justice so much in our country. We are supposed to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God(Micah 6:8), but, but we struggle because of our sin nature causing us to focus on ourselves. Thankfully, we must simply commit ourselves to doing it and then letting God change our hearts so that we can. The four C's of making Godly choices which have been spoken to youth are just as important to adults. 1. Consider the choice. 2. Compare it to God's Word. 3. Commit to Godly principles. 4. Count on God's protection and provision.

Ravi Zacharias notes that perfect justice is one of those absolutes that everyone has in mind. This is where Romans 2 talks about how everyone has some idea of justice in their minds, and one thing that condemns us is that we do not adhere to our own ideals of justice in every case. The fact that there are so many different ones shows why that perfect justice must come from God, because otherwise two people can have very opposing views of what is just.

Perfect justice requires that there be a penalty for sim.

Thankfully, God's perfect love was also present at the cross,  so as Mr. Zacharias says, perfect laws, perfect goodness, perfect evil, and perfect justice came together there, when thankfully Jesus Christ took our punishment, dying on the cross for our sin and rising from the dead, so we could call on him for salvation and have that wonderful relationship with God He wants us to have. What an awesome Savior! Anyone can call on Him right now to be saved from sin if they haven't.
 

Of course, it is not just that we should think about, but as noted first, the justice that should be done to everyone. Because, God truly sees everyone as equal before the cross,but we should do what's right and just for others, too.

The next one is something that our society struggles with perhaps more than any of the others.

We should focus on whatsoever things are pure.

The word actually means without stains, without interference from sin. We all sin and come short of the glory of God, of course, but there was a wholesomeness to life in the past, not just to entertainment. We need the Lord to return to us the joys of it by trusting Him to make that change in our hearts.

This is where the way our culture uses it is creates a huge importance for us to think on things that are pure to have repentance revival. 

Our culture makes too much of the sensual. There are many reasons for this, and to keep this family friendly, I'll just discuss things in general and how they show thinking about pure things is better. After all, there is a wonderful, wholesome place for one aspect of it, and that is between a married couple, just as a lawnmower is a wonderful tool to cut the grass but is not meant for trimming hedges or deadheading geraniums.

First, the Greeks have four words for love - I go into detail about them in this blog on another blog on this site. If we focus only on the external we miss out on the deeper, more lasting,  forever love that is unconditional.

That often can be traced to a lack of such unconditional love early. It doesn't have to come from those connected biologically, though it should. When some people feel they've missed that they turn to the superficial rather than to God's unconditional love, just like the woman at the well(John 4) kept turing to men till she met the Saviour, Jesus.

Jesus will fill all those holes in their hearts if they just turn to Him, however. And, when people respond to His Spirit's wooing, He can work in those people to be the family they never had to one who craves such love. Or, just friends who fill little needs, those best friends forever who a person can turn to if they don't feel like going to family and who can be like family.

Some, of course, simply fall for youthful lusts the way David did. King David doesn't seem to have had family problems except for brothers who taunted him, but even that wasn't as bad as some people have. Also, some brothers do that because they want their youngest brother to succeed through very hard work. It is even possible that his brothers tried to warn him away from the battle with Goliath to protect him. So, his home life was probably pretty good. Suffice it to say that there is a reason the Bible warns so heavily to flee youthful lusts. They can become very addictive and even rewire the brain if one is not careful, just like any addiction, even for someone from a very healthy background. This includes not looking at certain things, and also being modest in appearance.

This is because there is an element of selfishness in those "lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life" that 1 John 2:16 warns about. They cause people to only want what they can use for themselves and not how they can help and give to others; true love is ultimately all about giving, not getting. I've mentioned in several posts that is one of the big problems in our society, one that God must heal for us to have repentance revival, which means confessing and forsaking any and ourselves and then in our nation as a whole.

Instead, think on things that are pure. This lets you to focus on that unconditional love and to keep your mind on things of God. It allows you to focus on giving, which is more blessed than getting anyway. It also causes you to stop worrying about yourself and put your mind on following the Lord and His perfect wisdom and plan for your life. God will provide someone special in His time for those without someone. But, the Bible says being single is a gift also, because one can focus totally on Him.

There are many other things that can be included in things that are pure, however. Pristine, beautiful nature, for instance is so wonderful to observe. It is exquisite. It is lovely.

We should think on whatsoever things are lovely. The above is not the only thing that is lovely. It is just something that more people might think about nowadays.

When we think about things that are lovely, we think about anything that produces the right kind of pleasure. the kind that brings great joy internally that lasts, instead of the very temporary things involved in what came in the examples before.

The best things in life are free, such as that unconditional love. Every good and perfect gift cometh from above, from the Father of lights.(James 1:17) Also among those lovely, precious things are the Fruit of the Spirit(Gal.5:22-23) such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering(patience), temprance(self-control),etc.. Those are thigns that last. Money, fame, etc. are fleeting. It is those warm, family memories, those joyous occasions, that are lovely and should be focused on. This, in turn, helps us to avoid focusing on the bad - the fights, the battles, and so on.

Whatsoever things are of good report is sort of a general, catch-all phrase that captures whatever wasn't mentioned before. I suppose a wonderful, home-cooked meal or your favorite food at your favorite restaurant could be called lovely, but I tend to think of it as more of what fits here. "good report" just means that it is something that causes one to grow in favor with Godly people, to increase in reputation as a person who is reliable, dependable, hard working, and so on - all things that allow God to use them more and more for greater and greater things.

King David, for instance, had a couple things that prepared him for killing the giant, Goliath. One was that he obeyed in taking meals to his brothers in the field. That showed a caring servant's heart. He had also killed a lion and a bear that were trying to get at their father Jesse's sheep.

When it comes to entertainment, getting back to a previous subject, a "good report" can still be comical or involve a mistake, but it will be one with humility. My great grandmother lived to be 95, and she always said the secret to long life was "at least one good belly laugh a day." but, that involved good, clean humor, not crass, vulgar stuff that belittles people. I love laughing at my own mistakes nd making fun of when iImisunderstand things, because I have lots of self-confidence, I know that when i mess up it doesn't mean I'm some awful person.

So, it's really just humility. having fun with life instead of being so critical about everything. A teenager who called my office had that. He was trying to call a consulate in a foreign country, but did a country code wrong and so when he asked for that consulate, having had this happen to me once before, I started laughing and told him what he'd done. Now, had he been sad I would not have gone further but reassured him, but because he started laughing, too, I went on and said, "Your friends are going to tease you so much."(He was there with some sort of school group.) We both had a very good, lighthearted laugh over his "7,000 mile wrong number" as we spoke for a moment before he hung up. To this day, several years later, I'm sure that he looks back on it with his friends and laughs, and it has become part of their shared experience. It is something of good report, an honest mistake that was a real whopper, which ultimately showed that we are only human. We need to know when to be serious but also to look at the bright side of life and accept when thigns come our way that are not what we expect.

So, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. Like the above, this is a catch-all term that means to focus on that positive. Accepting our failings with humility

There are plenty of things that have praise from the world's viewpoint, but of course this is praise from God's perspective. Still, as noted, that covers a wide range of things. There is a wonderful list of things we can focus on while staying sober, laughing, having fun, and so on.

So, instead of covering the world with meanness, vulgarity, anger, sensual stuff, and so on, focus on the things which build others up, which last forever. Focus on the positive. And, focus on the things of God - the promises of comfort, peace that passes understanding, etc..

Because, God wants you to be more confident and positive. He says so in His Word - a merry heart workth good like a medicine.(Prov.17:22)