Looking For Loopholes

Looking for Loopholes

Luke 10:29, NLT

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Setting the Scene

After Jesus answered the expert’s question (actually, the man had answered it himself), Luke says the man “wanted to justify his actions.” We know the question was a good one and that the lawyer probably had known the answer, even as he was asking it. But hearing God’s requirements from his own lips must have caused him to think, “If I take this literally, I’m doomed!” After all, how can anyone be totally devoted to God, and how can anyone possibly show that kind of love to others? This man may have taken a quick mental inventory of his attitudes and actions and realized he had fallen woefully short. We don’t know whether the man wanted to justify his question by asking Jesus to delve deeper into the topic, or whether he wanted his own actions justified. So he pressed Jesus further, asking, “And who is my neighbor?”

Getting Personal

What teachings of Scripture do you find most difficult to obey? In what ways have you rationalized disobedience or shortcomings?

What do you sense God telling you to stop or start doing?

As we read Scripture, the Holy Spirit often convicts us of our sins and challenges us to action. At times we know exactly what God is saying to us about what we need to change and do. Yet like the legal expert in this story, we look for loopholes. We may think, for example, that a teaching applies to someone else, or we may try to interpret it to make it less demanding. Rationalizations come in many forms. Instead, we need to take seriously God’s Word, especially when Jesus says, “Do this and you will live!” (Luke 10:28, NLT).

It’s human nature to look for loopholes in the law, even God’s law, and to justify our actions. We can easily find “good” reasons for doing what we shouldn’t do or not doing what we should. The most difficult step to take in following God is that first one when we admit, “I was wrong” or “I’m headed in the wrong direction.” But that’s where life begins.

Talking to God

Request the Lord’s forgiveness for times when you have rationalized less-than-total obedience to one of his commands. Ask for his Spirit to work in you to give you “the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13, NLT).