Choking On Gnats?

"Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel." (Matthew 23: 16-24)

Two common sins are here identified by our Lord;

1) The sin of "gnat straining" (or "choking on gnats"), and 2) The sin of "camel swallowing."

Jesus was reacting to what might be called "situational irony." Certainly Jesus thought it ironic that these Pharisees, who were "sticklers" for the most tedious matters, getting all upset over any minor violation of the rules, were themselves guilty of having "...omitted the weightier matters of the law," such as "judgment, mercy, and faith." He said to them - "these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

Jesus advises the Pharisees, in so many words, to "pick your battles" and to have a proper estimation of things. He is telling them to not fight over every little thing. They needed to know when to compromise, overlook, and yield; and conversely, they also needed to know when to be uncompromising, and when not to overlook, when to be unyielding.

These two sins are metaphorically described in the above passage: 1) The sin of "gnat choking" corresponds to what we call "nit-picking," and 2) The sin of "camel swallowing" corresponds to "gullibility" (or spiritual blindness and hardness of heart).

Sinners can often be seen "making a big ado about nothing," or of "making something out of nothing." This is "gnat straining." But, sadly, in regard to true spirituality, sinners also "make nothing out of something."

People say - "I find that hard to swallow." The phrase "hard to swallow" is metaphorical; "swallowing" signifies a person's acceptance of ideas, and that which is "hard to swallow" is that which is difficult to accept or hard to believe. "Easy to swallow" is that which is easy to believe as true. People easily "swallow" many false hopes and beliefs, and find it difficult to swallow gospel truth.

This hypocrisy can be seen in today's society when, for instance, a sinner is concerned about the baldeagle and its endangered species status, and thus supports a law that says if a baldeagle egg is willfully destroyed, the person destroying it will be subjected to severe fines and imprisonment, and yet not see anything wrong with destroying human fetuses. This is clearly "straining at gnats" and "swallowing camels"!

These hypocrites truly "majored in the minors," and "minored in the majors." Their priorities were mixed up. Their value system was all out of order.

"Which is greater?" The temple that sanctifies the gold, or the gold? The Pharisees judgment that gold was "greater" than the temple was evidence that they were wrong in their estimation of things. Their value system was all out of order. Which is greater, the altar or the gift on the altar? Which is greater, the baldeagle egg, or the human fetus? Or, as Jesus asked, "How much then is a man better than a sheep?" (Matthew 12: 12)

Israel's first king, Saul, the one Israel had chosen (without counsel from the Lord), was a bad choice. They made their judgment based upon a faulty criteria. They did not properly estimate the spiritual worth of Saul and he turned out to be a miserable failure. David, Israel's next king, and this time, being one whom God had chosen to be king, by a different criteria, would be a great success. Both these men typified two characters; the blind Pharisee, who choked on gnats and swallowed camels, being exemplified in king Saul, and the Christian, who values things properly, being exemplified in king David.

"And Samuel said (to Saul), Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken (is better) than the fat of rams." (I Samuel 15: 22)

Saul was specifically ordered by the Lord to kill every living thing. Saul, however, disobeyed and saved some of the animals alive. He did this out of his spiritual blindness, for he had, in his mind, justification or excuse. He told the prophet - "I kept these animals to offer sacrifice to the Lord." Then, we have the words of rebuttal and rebuke by the prophet as stated above. Saul had misjudged. He did not properly value things. Which is greater or better? Obedience to God or offering him sacrifice?

Not only sinners, but also Christians, often struggle with being properly and adequately trained and equipped so as to be able to properly estimate the spiritual worth of things.

"It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." (Ecclesiastes 7: 2-4)

Certainly very few people judge the above to be true! Solomon's wisdom is not possessed by the world of lost sinners. They value laughter and mirth more than godly sorrow and penitent mourning. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psalm 51: 17)

"But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth." (Luke 22: 26, 27)

The disciples of Christ erred in their estimation of things, on this occasion. They had misjudged what was of the greatest importance. Their priorities needed readjusting. This is a common problem among disciples, especially among young disciples.

The word of God is our means for setting our values in proper order. It gives to us the wisdom of Solomon. There is no more reason for blindness of heart, other than man's stubborness of will and resistance to the light of divine truth. Friend, have your properly estimated things?