The Religious failures (Two Sons Matthew 21:28-32)

The Religious failures (Two Sons Matthew 21:28-32)
The say the most successful people in life are those who are organized, persistent, and have a plan they are committed to. These people set goals and do not let anything stand in the way of them accomplishing them. They understand what it takes to get to where they want to be in life, and they are willing to do what every it takes to get there. In the parable of the two sons Jesus indirectly lets the religious leaders of His time know that the path that they thought was going to lead them to success was only going to lead to destruction. He tells them that the tax collectors and prostitutes would get into heaven before they do because they saw the error of their ways and repented. All the things I mentioned in the open few sentences can be great things in the lives of individual but when it comes to religion it can be a death sentence. Religious people who think they know what they need to do to get where they need to be put man made rules and standards above the commands of God. They are committed and dedicated to things that have no value in the Kingdom of God and this is very dangerous.
In Mark 7:13 Jesus tells the religious ones that their man-made traditions made the words of God to none effect in their lives. They were organized, persistent, and they were committed to the plan, but it was a man-made plan and not the plan of God. Religion is very dangerous because men and women think they must improve upon what God has given us for it to be successful. We make extra rules to follow and judge people according to our rules instead of the rules of God. God never wanted to start a religion, all He wanted to do was restore a relationship. Jesus teaches us in this parable that the ones who inherit the Kingdom of God will not be those who always get everything right but instead those who know they have messed up and need help. The tax collectors and prostitutes believed the preaching of John the Baptist and it change the direction of their life. Jesus said they repented, turn their life around, and started pursuing the things of God over the things of this world. Religion looks great on the surface because it makes it look like you have a plan and a clear path to success but a good plan with us in control is still a bad plan because God is not in control.