Have you ever encountered a “Smart-Alick”? Yeah, who hasn’t? Did you know that Jesus ran into “Smart-Alicks” all the time? How do you handle people like that? Because they can really be draining!
Daily Bible Reading: The Gospel of Matthew 20-22
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 22:17-21 “Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” NKJV
OBSERVATION
In chapter 22 of Matthew’s Gospel there were at least 3 Smart-Alick questions posed at Jesus. I’m all for honest questions about the Bible, [and I know Jesus is too], but when you get people who just want to start a fight – I just don’t have time for that. I think its good [and necessary] to be able to defend your faith, but here Jesus must have been shaking His head at these people. I’m sure He was holding Himself back from “getting in the flesh”. If He did I’m sure He’d say something like, “Ya’ll are ‘a bunch of smart-alicks!” Why? Because they didn’t really want to seek the truth, all they wanted was to trap Jesus and make HIM look like a fool. That’s…. not a good idea. [But He did call them, “hypocrites”, so… I guess He did get them a little bit. I like that! Go get ‘em, Jesus!]
APPLICATION
I love the wisdom of Jesus. He didn’t “get in the flesh” and lash-out, but He had such incredible wisdom, and with that wisdom He put THEM in their place. I think we need to be careful about being a “Smart-Alick” around people, and especially around the Lord. If you’re wanting to really know the answer – great. But if you’re only trying to make people look stupid by starting some kind of argument over the Bible I think you need to check your heart. I know I need to check mine everyday to make sure that I’m being honest to God, AND to the person I shave in the mirror each morning. I believe God will give us incredible wisdom for the moment to handle the “smart-alicks” in a way that truly honors God.
PRAYER
“Lord, there something in my heart this morning that really wants to be open and honest before You. I do need wisdom, but I never want to be so hardened in my heart that I become a whining “smart-alick”. I pray that I would seek after wisdom and truth like precious jewels that are in the earth. Help me today. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.”
FEED THE FIRE! 