“What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”
– Jesus, to the Pharisees (Luke 16:15)
After hearing Jesus teach about financial stewardship, some of the Pharisees began to ridicule Him. Jesus answered their scorn by unmasking their intentions. No matter how good one might look on the outside, God still sees the heart. The burning eyes of God strip away all our good works performed to impress people. Furthermore, “what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” Often, the very things that people hold in highest esteem are the things that make God sick.
What do we exalt in our society today? Many people glamorize moviestars and TV personalities whose lives model behavior that we would do best to avoid. We make excuses for sports stars who cheat by using drugs to enhance their game. We respect those who make it to the top of the business world, even if it means losing their families in the process. In the church, we jump on the latest bandwagon, exulting in our church’s numerical growth, or the famed methods and strategies that grant us burgeoning ministries and outreach. Bigger is better. In business. In society. And sadly, even in the church.
But Jesus reminds us that all the glamour and fancy trappings fade away before the piercing eyes of God. Bigger is not always better to Him. The ways we measure success are not the ways God measures success. True wealth is not monetary. God knows our innermost being. He sees through the get-rich quick schemes of society or the get-big quick schemes of the church.
Jesus cuts through our preconceived notions of prosperity by turning the tables. What if we turned His statement around? If what is exalted among people is an abomination before God, it may just be that what is most questionable or “ridiculous” in the eyes of people is what pleases God the most.
written by Trevin Wax © 2007 Kingdom People blog