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“You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!” Matthew 23:24

People are fond of pointing out the hypocrisy among church-goers. On a recent Family Feud broadcast 100 people were asked, “Where would you be most likely to find the most sinners?” The number one answer was “the church”, with 29 people giving the response. Nine answered, “in hell”. I’m sure a few viewers sighed, huffed, or threatened to boycott the game show. I am certain many other were quite tickled and laughed out loud.

First of all, it should not surprise us that there are sinners in the church, nor that people think there are sinners there. If one was to remove every sinner from worship attendance there would be no one left in the pews. And, there would be no one left to run the service either. It is rule number one that Jesus came, not for the righteous, but for sinners.

People who are upset about sinners in the pews probably are just fine that sick people occupy hospital beds. One might answer, “Yes, but those sick people are expected to get well eventually.” If we want to extend the metaphor, then we should expect people who no longer sin to also stop attending our churches!

Jesus does not take issue with the fact that sinners make up the bulk up His followers. He was upset with a group of people who consider themselves quite beyond sin. They were utterly scrupulous in avoiding anything that would make them appear less spiritual. Jesus uses hyperbole to give us humorous picture of what this minutiae of religious law-keeping can lead to.

God had required the Jews to keep a certain set of dietary laws. The “gnat” was the smallest of the forbidden foods. One was considered unclean who partook of anything forbidden by God. So, wanting to maintain their position with the Lord, they would pour their wine through a cloth to catch any errant little bugs.

In fact, some of their rabbis wrote, “whoever eats a whole fly, or a whole gnat, whether alive or dead, was to be beaten on account of a creeping flying thing.” That would certainly put your teeth on edge. For myself, I would prefer to avoid prying a tiny morsel from between my teeth only to find out it had a head, legs and wings! But, I don’t think I would worry about the next bus to hell because of it.

Unfortunately, that is the lengths to which self-righteousness can drive us. But, as Christ watches the Pharisees, and as He sees us as well, He sees through our pretence. These bits of outward religiosity are not for the benefit of God, or for the growth of our inner life; they are for the benefit of those who watch us.

“Oh, my! Mark is certainly serious about his walk with God. Did you see him eating that cream of rice soup? It took him over an hour and a half to get through that small cup. He poured every spoonful on a saucer, ran his fork through the puddle, and made sure no living creature was swimming between the grains of rice. That is commitment! I wish I was that devoted to God.”

Ah, exactly the response the Pharisees hoped for! We are no better. Every group has some sort of measure of other people’s spirituality. Young men wearing hats in church are obviously disrespectful of God.  A man with an earring is effeminate, a girl with spiked hair is a punk, and any registered Democrat needs to repent to Jesus immediately! Have you ever noticed that many of those who keep the “small” rules sometimes are the hardest people to get along with?

That’s exactly what Jesus was saying. Imagine you are at dinner with me once again. I take an hour and a half to consume my soup, picking out every gnat or gnat-masquerader in the bowl. Then, after licking the last semblance of broth from my spoon, I stab a huge 20 pound slap of roast camel and devour it wildly. (Remember, camels are also on the “do not eat” list. In fact, they are among the filthiest animals in the Middle East).

Some sort of alarm goes off in your head. At first I was a committed follower of God, making sure I avoided the tiniest offense before Him. But, after watching my grand display, you see me blindly suck down a whole camel without giving it half a thought.

When we are so interested in “appearing” holy to others, we seldom actually mature spiritually at all. Many years ago I was on staff at a church of about 300. The senior pastor had founded the church and was in his third decade there. A family had begun attending the Wednesday Bible study he led. They included a husband and wife, plus the wife’s sister who was afflicted with Asperger’s. I do not remember whether it happened during the study, or as people were exiting, but the sister let out with two or three of the most profane expletives in the sanctuary.

The next day I wondered how our pastor might handle the situation. I expected he might try to have a conversation with the family, and knowing his fairly strict background, I expected he would try very diligently to find a way to avoid such outbursts in the future. So, what happened was quite a shock. After referring to the event, he got red in the face and bellowed, “We don’t need any retard in this church!”

I was dumbstruck. To this day I feel a bit guilty. I let my fear of losing my position keep me from speaking up. I do not call this man a hypocrite by nature, but this was a hypocritical action. The “gnat” was having a well-respected church that had grown under his care. The “camel” was the freedom he felt to call someone names who had a mental difficulty.

I am glad, though, that I have rubbed shoulders with many more men and women of God who have set aside gnats and camels from off their menu, and have decided to major in the weightier matters of the Law, “justice, mercy and faith.”

Let us examine our own hearts to see whether we act or speak in ways that are meant to show off our “spirituality”. Instead, may we become almost unconscious of any personal holiness we have, remembering that we are right with God, not because of our behavior, but because of the grace of God who forgave all through Christ on the cross.