Through The Bible in a Year - May 22, 2026

"You have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction... you show partiality in your instruction... I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless." - Malachi 2:8-9; 3:5

The priests of Israel had a problem: they were cherry-picking God's law. They'd bless the rich and oppress the poor. They'd overlook sin in their friends and condemn it in strangers. They'd enforce laws they liked and ignore laws they didn't.

By their actions, they implied, "You need to keep all of God's law... unless you're rich. You need to keep all of God's law... unless you're related to me."

The result? People learned to cherry-pick their way through God’s standards: "I like that one. I don't like that one." Partial obedience was their pattern. Selective righteousness was theirpractice. Convenient holiness their habit.

Even the world recognizes such hypocrisy.

A recent example: A young woman on a reality TV show claimed to be a Christian while sleeping with multiple men on the show. When confronted, she responded with an obscene gesture and said, "Jesus still loves me." On the show and in social media everyone scoffed at her supposed faith.

Honoring God in one area while blatantly disobeying in another isn't honoring God at all. Even the world recognizes that hypocrisy.

We're all tempted to cherry-pick. We want to follow God where it's comfortable and ignore Him where it's costly.

We say we follow Jesus, but we hold onto bitterness. We claim to love God, but we ignore the poor. We talk about holiness, but we entertain ourselves with content that glorifies sin. We sing about surrender on Sunday but are tempted to live for ourselves Monday through Saturday.

Cherry-picking says: "I'll honor God here, but not over here." But that's not really honoring God in your heart at any time. God wants our integrity. That means no areas of our lives are marked "off-limits" to His lordship.

Respond: Where are you cherry-picking God's commands? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the areas where you've been saying, "I'll obey God here, but not there." Don't rationalize. Don't excuse. Don't compare yourself to others who are "worse." Confess where you have knowingly stepped aside from God’s standards. Then, repent by asking God to give you integrity—a whole heart that honors Him in all areas, not just the convenient ones.

Prayer: Lord, search my heart. Where have I been cherry-picking Your commands? Where have I honored You in convenient areas while disobeying in challenging ones? I don't want to be a hypocrite. I want integrity—a heart fully devoted to You. Show me where I've been partial in my obedience. Give me the courage to change. Make me genuine, inside and out. In Jesus' name, Amen.