Under the Yoke of the Unlawful - a message about being put in a "box"

Twenty-five years ago my first sibling, my sister, had her wedding. I remember the day as being very hot and for a youth not used to wearing a dress coat on a hot day, it was miserable! The wedding was not held in our church...why? because they couldn't play instrumental music in our church building.

For some of you reading this, that reason may not be understandable. However, our family attended a Church of Christ, which is traditionally acappella (no instrumental accompaniment). Of course, this tradition is during our worship service, but some felt it carried over to practically any day of the week, including a wedding. So, my sister had to find another place to hold their wedding.

This tradition was held so tightly that it put our family in a box, for the sake of the wedding. We did, at a Baptist church in town. Have I mentioned it was hot that day?

As Jesus mentioned about the yoke of man's rules and traditions being heavy and His being light, in Matthew 12:1-8 we see one of the places Jesus uses an example to defend the heavy versus light yoke. As the Pharisees are pointing fingers at the disciples of Jesus, they expand the thought of being put in a box regarding the Sabbath. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• Pointing Fingers ~ It is easy, whether it is in society or the religious world, to look at someone and define them based on yourself. Bullying, as defined today, begins this way. Whether it is about a person's clothing or sexuality, people will treat them a certain way based on where they stand on something. The old adage says that when we point a finger, we have three pointing back to us. As we point, we forget about our faults. May we be thankful for grace that has the potential to excuse our faults as well as others!
• Keep it Simple ~ When the disciples, in the text, were rubbing their hands together, some called it harvesting. For our modern "combine harvesting" days, that would especially seem ludicrous. However, what if the scene was a combine was cutting to take a row (or less) to give the family some food. Would we then see it as work? Maybe keeping our definitions simple would help. Let's not stretch them out to make them something just to point a finger or place judgments. Compare apples to apples...not Johnny apples to Granny Smith apples!
• Become Familiar ~ One way to have a more accurate definition of saying if someone is wrong in a matter is to be very familiar with the subject. Too often people who judge Christians are not familiar enough with the Bible. They may think they are, but have chosen to "pick and choose" to defend themselves. "Proof texts" rarely provide the necessary proof, so we need to be aware of using them in our defenses.

Life can be challenging when we are not able to use our talents in accomplishing tasks. That may be in the workplace or in our religious beliefs. There are areas which we have freedoms but are put in a box. Becoming freed from that "box" will allow us to better serve our God through our passions and talents. Plus, we will be excited to serve! Know your parameters, but serve Him with vitality!

Now it's your turn...when have you been placed in a "box?" Also, what was the source for which you were involved?