Jan
18
2012

Inside of the Cup: The Parable of the 7 Eleven

An article by Matt

Matthew 23 has always been a challenging chunk of scripture for me. The passage talks a good bit about hypocrisy, and talks about making our actions and our words line up. Towards the end of the chapter, Jesus dives into the woes, and there are two that always stand out to me:

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Every time I read this, I take a few minutes to soak and ask the Holy Spirit where I am like the Pharisees, repent, and ask for wisdom on my journey towards Christ.

Last week I came upon a video that had me thinking about this passage. Tom Peters, a cantankerous sounding old man who reminds me of my grandfather, has a three minute video that talks about investing in your people. I debated sharing this video because there are two words in it that I am sure that you have never heard before, and while those words make this video PG13, my hope is that we can move beyond that and hear the truth in what Tom is saying:

Let’s think about this for a minute. We can have the coolest church building in three counties, can have all the coolest graphics, websites, audio-visual toys, and all that… but if we are not investing in our people, we might as well flush that money down the toilet. Excuse the phrase, but church is a people business. If we are not investing in leaders, making sure that they are well trained, well supported, and well cared for, there is no way that they will be able to care well for the people whom they serve.

If our people are unaware of how to minister to the world around us the best music, drama, and preaching ever heard will do nothing for us. Invest in your people… ensure they know how to minister well, make sure they are resourced appropriately, and care well for them.

How do YOU make sure YOUR leaders are well cared for?