The Lord sent the Israelites back
into the wilderness and there He gave them some further
instructions. One of the instructions was very interesting to me.
God told them to make tassels for the hem of their clothing and to
attach it to the corner of the hem with a blue cord. And the reason
was:
"The tassles will remind you of the
commands of the Lord, and that you are to obey His commands instead
of following your own desires and going your own ways, as you are
prone to do. The tassles will help you remember that you must obey
all My commands and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God who
brought you out of the land of Egypt that I might be your God. I am
the Lord your God!" Numbers 15:39, 40
God wanted them to have a visual
reminder that they are to obey Him and not to follow their own
desires. He wanted them to follow Him and to strive to be holy unto
Him. God knows people and He knows how evil they can be and how
easily they can fall into their old ways of doing things.
Now the Israelites did
make the tassles, but they later applied it in totally the wrong
way. Instead of using it to remind them of God and following His
ways, they used it to show others how righteous and pious they
were. Jesus reprimanded the religious leaders for doing this:
"Everything they do is for show. On
their arms they wear extra wide prayers boxes with Scripture verses
inside, and they wear extra long tassles on their robes. And how
they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most
prominent seats in the synagogue! They enjoy the attention they get
on the streets." Matthew 23:5 - 7
They flaunted their tassles and
made a show of it. This was in direct contradiction of what God
wanted. He wanted to give them something as a reminder that they
should humbly follow Him and strive to be holy, not walk around
being proud of having longer tassles than all the others! Jesus was
clearly disgusted with them.
Being spiritually proud of what God
has given you is an abomination in His eyes. Spiritual pride
brought the fall of Satan and is one of the biggest tools Satan
uses against mature Christians. God feels so strongly about it that
He gave Paul a thorn in the flesh to keep him from getting proud.
And today God wants us to stay humble and anchored in Him and not
become proud of the spiritual things He has blessed us with.
I can imagine it must be difficult
for preachers with a big following to stay humble and to realize
that it is all about God and His Kingdom and not about them. I
really think it is hard, especially if you are treated like a rock
star as I see many of them are on television. But the same goes for
us too. We should stay humble even if we receive one spiritual
victory after another. We should give all the glory to God and
praise Him for the gifts and spiritual reminders that He has given
us.
Sit back and thank God today that
you are part of His Kingdom already and that you may share His
Word. It really is a privilege bestowed upon us and certainly not
anything to be proud of. Jesus did all the hard work and we should
praise Him for it.
Father, thank you very much that
You care so much for us. Help us to stay humble and focused on You
and Your majesty. We also pray for spiritual leaders Lord that You
will keep them humble and safe in Your arms. Help us to focus on
You and help us in our daily efforts to become holy just like Jesus
was. Amen