Few things upset me like pouring a glass of water into a cup that looks clean only to find the inside of the cup was dirty. You get the little floaties, or you see something crusted to the inside of the cup. Well, it is comforting to know that Jesus hates this type of thing as well. In Matthew 21-24 Jesus rails against the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. He calls the snakes, blind fools, and hypocrites. He calls them out on their lack of justice, mercy, and faithfulness. He even compares them to a cup that is clean on the outside, but inside is filthy with greed and self-indulgence on the inside. . . .
Throughout the book of Matthew, Jesus has consistently reached out to the non-religious people--white collar thieves and prostitutes, blue collar laborers and lepers. Jesus seems to want to meet people where they are. If where they are is neck deep in sin, then Jesus offers them a better way. If, however, they are neck deep in sin and pretending to be Godly, then Jesus seems to have very little patience for them--especially if they are in a role of spiritual leadership.
We all need to stop playing games. Be who you are. If you are a dirty cup--fine. Stay in the sink to be cleaned. If you are a clean dish--fine. Get it in the cupboard to be used. But don't be the cup that is pretending to be one thing when they are really the other--nobody likes drinking out of a cup they think is clean only to find out it's dirty.
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