Am I tied up with burdens or freely living?

Am I tied up with burdens or freely living?

“....all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.  They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on mens’ shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men...” - Matthew 23:3-5 NASB

OBSERVATION

As I pause.... closing my eyes I attempted to visualize, a large crowd gathering around Jesus to listen.  His followers move just a bit closer, His words challenge their emotion’s and logic as He appears to be unafraid of individuals with influence and power - questing cultural traditions and the actions of all leadership. 

Hmmmm.... .... as I try to figure out how to follow Jesus, I encountered countless times of wrestling with the Bible.  Why?  

1. Via reading, I came acrossed words, concepts, and theories that were complete foreign.
2. Through listening to various pastors and teachers I’ve become even more confused at times.  Many of them derive points that can’t be found in the context of that passage or chapter - bottom line: Many have become excellent self-help orators.  

I’ve been around the western church for a substantial amount of time and have heard Matthew 23:3-5 avoided. Let’s dig and break the text down,

““....all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.  They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on mens’ shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men...” - Matthew 23:3-5 NASB

What conclusions can I take straight from the text (NO SIDESTEPPING):

    -Individuals that masquerade and will give me “LIP SERVICE”.

        -AKA: Say one do another, pretend, etc...  

    -Masquerading individuals will place burdens on others 

    -Posing Individuals that WILL NOT assist. 

    -Pretentious individual do everything to be noticed / esteemed by others.

      

APPLICATION 

As I re-read Matthew 23:3-5 I wrestling with a personal application.... so, what Biblical truth can I walk away with today? I can’t discount myself from masquerading.... so how do I roll this out? 

-Be mindful of my actions.

-Be transparent with desires.  

-I’m also NOT responsible for others decisions. 

-Be committed to keeping my word.

-Walk alongside others as I’d want them to do for me.   

Your thoughts?