Matthew was an easy guy to hate because he was a money-grubbing tax collector. On behalf of the Roman Empire, he and his comrades extorted their fellow Jews far beyond what was owed to the government.

And Matthew was perfectly cool with that.

The corrupt system worked in his favor. It was a great gig since Matthew was all about Matthew and excelled at doing exactly what Solomon warned against in Proverbs 23:4 "Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist." On the contrary, Matthew was wearing himself out to get rich. He was trusting in his cleverness.

Pre-Jesus Matthew's response would've been, So what, man? If you're gong to wear yourself out doing something, it might as well be getting rich, Besides, if you can't trust yourself, who in the world can you trust?

We get it, Pre-Jesus Matthew. We get it.

Because, sadly, that's exactly the kind of self-reliant, succeed-at-all-costs, follow-your-own-truth consumerism ethos our world goes bananas over. Our culture of consumerism feasts on it. I mean, who doesn't love a good rags-to-riches story? And if those riches were attained through disgustingly selfish, ill-gotten greedy means ... Eh. Details.

The desire to be on top is like a electromagnetic force. And it can seize any one of us, like a thumbtack sucked up by a magnet. So then, think about what it would take to reverse that mighty pull once you'd been seized. What would cause you to willingly give it up, walk away from the money, and lay down the power?

Only the most dramatic of plot twists. For Matthew, it came in the form of two simple yet profound words: "Follow me." Jesus "went out and saw a tax collector ... sitting at the tax booth, And he said to him, 'Follow me.' And leaving everything, he rose and followed him" (Luke 5:27-28).

This was not a casual interaction. In a single moment, Matthew's need for more stuff was obliterated when he stood face-to-face with the Author of Life. All the trust-in-yourself and follow-your-own-truth nonsense vaporized the second he locked eyes with Truth and was called to follow the ultimate force, the desire to know and love God in the flesh. Matthew, the easy-to-hate, crooked, money-grubbing tax collector was standing in the presence of pure love. And it changed him instantly. Radically.

We get it, Matthew. We get it!

Because, beautifully, that's exactly the kind of Jesus-reliant, trust-at-all-costs, "follow me" ethos our Heavenly Father goes bananas over. So much so, He orchestrated a plot twist for each of us to respond to. And we too must decide. God longs to make our cooked paths straight (Luke 3:5) and script the ultimate rags-to-riches story, which sometimes involves trading in our earthly riches for a few temporary rags.

And Matthew was perfectly cool with that.

He saw how much more this redemptive system worked in his favor, It was a great gig, as Matthew became all about Jesus.

PRAYER FOCUS

Thank God for asking you to follow Him, repent of the times you rely on your own skills, and ask Him to show you areas where you can shift your allegiances.

MOVING FORWARD

• In what areas of your life do you trust in your own cleverness?
• If you're brutally honest, do you identify more with pre-Jesus Matthew or disciple Matthew?
• What have been some of the dramatic plot twist the Lord has orchestrated in your life?