Soup Strainers

I came across this passage today as I did my morning reading:

Matthew 23:24 - You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

The context of this is that Jesus was railing against the Pharisees, who were the religious elite of the day. According to my pastor, this type of imagery was representative of the humor of the day. The idea of swallowing a camel is of course absurd and Jesus used this as a joke. Chances are that the disciples were shocked at His strong language toward the Pharisees and also had to suppress some laughter when they heard this.

What's the big deal about a gnat? Swallowing one would make one unclean by the Mosaic Law. The Pharisees were extremely careful to keep that Law, but they were still "whitewashed tombs" as Christ called them. In other words, they looked clean on the outside, but were rotten on the inside.

How to respond to this? We in the church are great at straining out gnats. We put on our church faces and look the part. I went to church for years while harboring my secret sin and I know I'm not the only one. I was swallowing the camel while it looked like I was living a sanctified life. Obviously if we claim to follow Christ our lives should make us seem different than the world.

I also see some overreaction to this. It's possible to swing the other way and live in such a "free" way that the world would never know that we care about Jesus. I don't see how that helps either.

Somewhere there is a middle ground. Paul tells us that he was all things to all people. I know that a lot of people couldn't care less about what I have to say. But I also know that quite a few do. I pray that I would find that balance and not be seen as swallowing camels while I'm busy with the gnats.