Are You a Good Tree, or a Bad Tree?

In the days of Jesus, the Pharisees and Scribes were the religious elite. The Scribes copied the Scriptures diligently while the Pharisees memorized them and dressed in holy fashion, so no one would pass by without realizing they were passing by a rabbi, a teacher, a religious guru! They loved the homage and respect people gave them, and so they found extravagant ways to show their “holiness”. What they call holiness Jesus described another way in Matthew 23:25-28:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."


The Pharisees were guilty of paying no attention to their motives and their thoughts. We must take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5) so that we do not fall into the trap of the Pharisees.

But there is another side that is often forgotten. The Pharisees didn’t have it all wrong. They cleaned the outside of the cup, and never once did Jesus reprimand them for that, but instead reprimanded that they had failed to pay attention to the inside as well.

The outside is just as important as the inside. Who do people see when they see you? Do they see Christ, do they see a selfless and sacrificial Christian who is ready to give everything to save a soul? If what we present by our actions denies our claim to Christianity, then we are just as bad as the Pharisees. Many today claim “The Lord knows my heart!” as they run headlong into sinful behavior. Perhaps we ought to consider that our actions are produced by what is in our heart, and that a good tree cannot produce bad fruit (Luke 6:43-45).

The real question is, “Are you a good tree, or a bad tree?” and the answer is displayed by the fruit of your actions and the motivation behind them. Clean the inside, and let the inside cleanse the outside so that righteousness saturates your life and mind.