Rejecting Rationalization

<p>An Atlanta police officer asked a driver if she knew why he had stopped her. &ldquo;No idea!&rdquo; she said in bewilderment. &ldquo;Ma&rsquo;am, you were texting while driving,&rdquo; the officer gently told her. &ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; she protested, holding up her cell phone as evidence. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an email.&rdquo;</p> <p>Using a cell phone to send an email doesn&rsquo;t grant us a loophole from a law that prohibits texting while driving! The point of the law isn&rsquo;t to prevent texting; it&rsquo;s to prevent distracted driving.</p> <p>Jesus accused the religious leaders of His day of creating far worse loopholes. &ldquo;You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God,&rdquo; He said, quoting the command to &ldquo;Honor your father and mother&rdquo; as evidence (Mark 7:9&ndash;10). Under the hypocritical cloak of religious devotion, these wealthy leaders were neglecting their families. They simply declared their money as &ldquo;devoted to God,&rdquo; and <em>voila</em>, no need to help Mom and Dad in their old age. Jesus quickly got to the heart of the problem. &ldquo;You nullify the word of God by your tradition,&rdquo; He said (v. 13). They weren&rsquo;t honoring God; they were dishonoring their parents.</p> <p>Rationalization can be so subtle. With it we avoid responsibilities, explain away selfish behavior, and reject God&rsquo;s direct commands. If that describes our behavior, we&rsquo;re merely deceiving ourselves. Jesus offers us the opportunity to exchange our selfish tendencies for the guidance of the Spirit behind His Father&rsquo;s good instructions.</p>