Tuesday March 3rd: Practice what you preach

“Do everything they tell you, but do not do what they do”

Matthew 23:1-12

Most of us as children have heard this saying in growing up to “practice what we preach”.

In today’s Gospel we see the context that Jesus is bringing to our attention to do what we say. In order to do so we must be humble. “For those who exalt themselves they will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  When people ascend into leadership there is a tendency to lose the common touch and consider themselves so powerful that they expect others to do what they will not do.

This is a warning from Jesus that we must all guard against. We must recognize that we are called to serve and not laud it over others. It must never be about us. When we are called to ministry because of some skill, knowledge, or experience, we must always see it as an opportunity to become closer to Jesus. In so doing we must be like Him and help others to develop a personal relationship with the Lord. This can only be achieved if we practice humility.