Are you a Pharisee?

The thing that exemplifies the Pharisaical attitude is, I think, knowledge which exceeds understanding. They knew a lot about scripture, but never really understood it. Like building a house, if you don’t know what it’s supposed to do, the directions don’t really mean much.

I’ve been involved in the construction of more than a hundred homes. Some were bigger than others, and in high school people looked at one of my architectural creations and called it a “doghouse with windows.” Perhaps. But some of my blueprints were eventually built, while their efforts looked good on paper and never became a reality.

There are many processes in building a home. They overlap each other, and to get the job done in a timely manner it takes an understanding of what each step entails.

Back when I was involved, windows came in specific sizes, and had to be ordered weeks in advance. Same with rafters, cabinets, and any number of different specialized items. A contractor had to know how long each step would take, and when to order things so they’d be ready in time to be installed. These days it’s not such an issue, because the processes have been sped up.

The Pharisees knew the scriptures. They knew their Messiah would come from the region of Nazareth, would be born in Bethlehem, spend time in Egypt, and all manner of facts about what the Messiah would look like. But they weren’t looking at the scripture as a whole. They picked and chose, and missed the whole point.

There’s a guy I know who is like that. He knows a lot about the Bible, but doesn’t really understand it as a whole. He makes assertions like the Pharisees did, but fails to understand how the whole Bible impacts what he’s saying (or maybe vice-versa). I’m not saying he’s wrong, just that his knowledge may exceed his wisdom.

As with the Pharisees, to even ask the question “are you sure” is an accusation that he’s wrong. Then the conversation becomes a competition with everyone on their soapbox telling everyone else how foolish they are for whatever their stance is.

Everyone has a bias. Are you willing to rethink your bias? Most of the Pharisees were not, though at least some were.

So ask yourself again if you’re a Pharisee.