Name: Rabaya, Janice Mae ReEd 3

Course: BSA-2 MWF 7:30 – 8:30 AM

“A God-centered Life”
(Reflection on Three Parables Intended for the Pharisees)
A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. -Proverbs 21:2
The Pharisees in the Bible were members of a religious group or party who frequently clashed
with Jesus Christ over his interpretation of the Law that's why some parables are directed to them.
The Parables mentioned in the last three Sunday Gospels are directed to the Pharisees because the
name "Pharisee" means "separated one." They separated themselves from society to study and
teach the law, but they also separated themselves from the common people because they
considered them religiously unclean. In Luke 15:1-32, the Pharisees are scrupulously concerned
about ritual purity that's why they complained when Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them.
They also have a closed heart and understands nothing but only on what they believed. They are
incapable of welcoming sinners and does not know how to love. In Luke 16:1-5, the Pharisees
sneered at Jesus when Jesus said "You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money. The
Pharisees could justify their love of money by quoting some saying from the Scripture. As soon as
someone has money, they are convinced that they possess truth and thus, they felt authorized to
judge and decide on things of God. In Luke 16:19-31, the Pharisees are lovers of money, they were
scoffing to Jesus but He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men,
but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight
of God. Aside from that, the Gospels often portray Pharisees as arrogant, but they were generally
respected by the masses because of their piety. However, Jesus saw through them. He scolded
them for the unreasonable burden they placed on the peasants.
The first consideration that we should take in making small or big decisions is to consider
the possible effects, consider other people's feelings and never neglect those people who want to
change for the better. God rejoices when lost sinners come to him, and we should too. As citizens
of the Kingdom of Heaven, we search for lost sinners and tell them about Jesus. We should
consider those people who seek help and as for ourselves, we should acknowledge our sins and
ask for repentance. The second consideration is to always be accountable of whatever Jesus has
given to us. We should not waste whatever we have and use it for the common good. God gives
us every blessing we have, whether monetary or spiritual. He wants us to be wise in how we
interact with one another, and to use our gifts to give back to Him and to one another. We have the
choice to deny and reject, but God wants nothing to interfere with our love for Him. We should
use what we have not for the purpose of earthly happiness but for divinely happiness. Last
consideration is to always put God in the center of everything. We should always ask for His
guidance, always pray to Him and tell Him we cannot do things alone, that is we always need Him.
We should bear in mind that we are His servant and we should pray to Him that may all the things
we encounter and experience is done according to His will. God should be the most important part
of our lives. When we let other things get in the way or distract us, we often wind up confused and
disappointed. We should continue to pray and re-focus our hearts on the Lord.
Therefore, God alone satisfies and He alone is enough. When we trust God, everything will
follow. We should not neglect what we have and we should always be there for each other. It is
indeed a graceful life when we put God in the center because "If God is all you have, you have all
you need." -John 14:8