“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” (Matthew 23:23).

“Compartmentalization” yep, that’s what we called it here in the USA. My friends in Japan referred to it as the “Chrysantemum Effect.” The idea that different aspects of a person’s life can be segregated from every other segment. Work life is different from home life which are both different from one’s social life, etc. For the Christian, you can add religious life and church life. The idea that one can be a totally different person in each sphere. In other words, how one behaves at work causes one to be one kind of person as opposed to the kind of person they are in their behavior when they are home, etc.

The mental process of “compartmentalization” has its effect in how we approach our service to the Lord. I have heard it expressed in different ways. Some talk about how people over emphasize “doctrinal” matters in their life and teaching to the neglect of their behavior towards others. That was apparently the problem with the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus rebuked them for their hypercritical and obsessive concern for tithing while neglecting their relationships with their fellow man. Obviously, such is out of balance and wrong. However, others have taken the words of Jesus to conclude that as long as one is focusing on the “weightier matters of the law” that such gives them a license to neglect “doctrinal matters.” That form of “compartmentalization” is also wrong. Jesus indicated that the practice of the scribes and Pharisees in tithing was indeed something they should have done: “these ought ye to have done”. The problem was not the precise attention to tithing that Jesus rebuked, the problem was their obsessive behavior became an excuse for ignoring how they treated others: “and not to leave the other undone.”

Now, I could be wrong, but I think our Lord does not see doctrinal and relational matters as being mutually exclusive the way many have today. Rather, I think the Lord is trying to show His disciples that there was to be harmony in every aspect of one’s service to God rather than the conflict we see in the lives of the scribes and Pharisees. There are the “weightier matters of the law” that should not be neglected, and one can assume the “not so weightier matters of the law” should not be neglected either. The attention to detail and focus on the “small matters” is very important.

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).

American managers used to say, “Focus on the big things and don’t worry about the little things.” To which my friends from Japan would say, “If you will focus on the little things, there will be no big things.” That is just it. The reason so many have problems in their relationships with others is because they do not pay attention to the “small things.” Common courtesies, being polite, saying “thank you,” treating everyone with respect, returning phone calls and emails in a timely manner, etc. have a big impact in our relationships. You can’t talk to others all the time in a dismissive manner and think you can make up for it by giving them a dozen roses on their birthday. Neither can you talk to someone about the importance of the Lord’s church and following the doctrinal pattern of the New Testament and expect them to listen when at other times you have been boorish in your behavior. We cannot compartmentalize our conduct as Christians. Everything has its proper place and importance. The words of our Lord fall neatly into place. Don’t they? “These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”