by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
You must admit, some of Jesus’ word pictures are pretty funny. It’s humorous to imagine someone trying to filter out a tiny insect so their food will be clean, but open their mouth wide for a whole camel!<\/p>\n
But the lesson in that funny image isn’t funny at all. For the Jews to whom Jesus spoke, they had fallen into the trap of enforcing the tiny details of their rules while ignoring the greater issues of honesty and integrity.<\/p>\n
Christians can fall into the same trap in various ways. We can focus on one little personal conviction and keep the focus there while forgetting the overarching principles that are the foundations of our faith. Someone put it this way: We can major in the minors and minor in the majors.<\/p>\n
Strain the gnats, sure, but don’t swallow the camel.<\/p>\n
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!<\/em>” (Matthew 23:23-24).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores You must admit, some of Jesus’ word pictures are pretty funny. It’s humorous to imagine someone trying to filter out a tiny insect so their food will be clean, but open their mouth wide for a whole camel! But the lesson in that funny image isn’t funny at all. For the Jews…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[515,730],"class_list":["post-86273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-priorities","tag-wisdom"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23853,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-the-egyptian-magicians-able-to-do-real-miracles\/","url_meta":{"origin":86273,"position":0},"title":"Were the Egyptian magicians able to do real miracles?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I want to know if the Egyptian magicians did real miracles or did they appear to do so by the means of a tonic to immobilize the snakes? 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The young man answered, \"Master, all these\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/01\/needles-eye-gate.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":52749,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-was-an-unclean-animal-used-to-symbolize-jesus-tribe\/","url_meta":{"origin":86273,"position":2},"title":"Why was an unclean animal used to symbolize Jesus’ tribe?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings, According to Leviticus 11:27, the lion is an unclean animal because of its paw. Therefore, how is it that the lion (Lion of the Tribe of Judah) is chosen as a type of Christ? Thank you. Answer: Unclean animals are a classification in regard to food. \"Nevertheless these\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41476,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-express-my-anger-in-a-way-that-is-healthy-and-in-a-way-god-would-want-us-to\/","url_meta":{"origin":86273,"position":3},"title":"How can I express my anger in a way that is healthy and in a way God would want us to?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I would like to wish you a very happy New Year. This year, I want to focus even more on becoming a better Christian and learning what God requires of us. My question is in regards to anger. Sometimes, like all humans, I get angry in life. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13823,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-a-camel-bone-disprove-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":86273,"position":4},"title":"Does a Camel Bone Disprove the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Partain Fox News, Yahoo News, Forbes, Duke University, and of course the\u00a0New York Times\u00a0have jumped on a story from Tel Aviv University that claims they have finally found evidence that the Bible made a mistake. Could be they think Bill Nye the Science Guy needs a little help.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Camel-300x275.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":84033,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/balance\/","url_meta":{"origin":86273,"position":5},"title":"Balance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores Now, there's a concept. The more we need it, the more out of reach it appears. For instance, our political views have become more extreme and polarized. 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