Mon. July 7th :: Lk. 11 :: Burdens

Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you,
because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry,
and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
(Luke 11.46)

------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve been thinking about what precisely it was about the religious leaders that caused Jesus to confront them so harshly.

Perhaps this verse gives us a clue.

It says that while the ‘religious experts’ love to pile on ‘burdens’ (difficult commands to live a certain way), they do nothing to lift such burdens from the backs of ordinary people. They are trying to get people to ‘be good’ without ever delivering ‘good news’. And there’s no hope in that.

So what should this mean for us?

As a pastor, telling people to ‘be good’ is a part of my job description. I’m supposed to tell you to control your tongue, your thoughts, and your pocketbook. But there are two ways of doing that. The message of the gospel is that we are accepted by God, therefore we obey. The message of dead religion sounds similar, but ultimately ends in burn-out and despair. It says: We obey, in order to be accepted. The first way lifts burdens without sacrificing the need for holy living. The second way imposes burdens, without raising a finger to lift them. Both ways may produce people who ‘look good’ but only one is Christian.

So what do you think?

Which of these two approaches to right living has most often characterized your view of Christianity?