Jesus said something curious in Matthew 5:20, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” 

That is amazing because the scribes and the Pharisees at that time were extremely careful in keeping the commandments. How can we do more than them? What did Jesus mean by that?

What Jesus meant is that He wants us to be the kind of persons who obey the law because we WANT TO from the bottom of our hearts because of our love for God. The scribes and the Pharisees obeyed the law only to stay out of trouble or to gain respect from the people. They weren’t doing it to pleased the Lord or because it pleased them to please the Lord.

Here’s a great illustration for it. A woman was married to a slave-driver of a husband. He was hard and demanding. He made her get up at 4:30 am every morning and gave her a list of chores to do each day while he was at work. Being a good and honorable wife, she dutifully carried them out. But she hated it. She longed for the day when she doesn’t have to work so hard. Then one day, her husband died of an accident. She was rather relieved…. Then, a new man began to show interest in her and eventually proposed to her. She was reluctant but trusting God, she said “yes.” He was not like her previous husband. He loved her and cherished her. He made her feel like a princess and everyday was like a dream. One day, she was cleaning out the attic, and a piece of paper fell out of an old coat. It was a list of things her ex-husband made her do. To her astonishment, she realized that she is doing as much or more for her current husband than she did for her ex-husband! But now, it gave her pleasure and joy whereas before it was a dread!

So, she was doing all the things she did before and more, but it gave her pleasure! That is the kind of people God wants us to become towards Him! The pharisees saw God as a slave-driver. Only obeying to get what they want. But Jesus is letting us see that God is the good and loving husband. Once our heart is changed, we will do more than the pharisees and the scribes for God!

Do you dread going to church? Do you ask yourself if you should tithe? Don’t tell yourself, “Just buckle down and do it!” Rather, pray to God, “God, there is something wrong with my heart. I don’t want to do the things I should delight in! Change it so that I would WANT TO obey you out of pleasure and not out of duty!”

PH