If you grew up around church, you’ve probably heard about the Pharisees and the Sadducees. It’s interesting that these two groups of Jewish religious leaders often get lumped together when we talk in terms of Biblical history, because in reality, they held totally different beliefs; in fact, they hated each other. Though there were multiple sects within their population, the Pharisees held the view that there were angels and demons, that God performed miracles, that there is an eternal spirit within every person, and that the whole Old Testament is the Word of God. The Sadducees, on the other hand, were a wealthy political class of Jewish leaders. They didn’t believe in any of those things, and they only accepted the first five books of the Bible. They were all about making alliances within the Roman government, and they did not profess belief in an afterlife. They were politically religious, and their job was to oversee the temple, which was like the Hebrew’s federal bank. Interestingly, though Jesus spoke sternly to the Pharisees, it was actually the Sadducees who put Him to death, because everything He spoke of contradicted their way of thinking. While they were about building a kingdom on earth, He was about building a Kingdom in Heaven — one that held spiritual treasures in the place of highest value. 

Friend, my point in giving you this lesson in Jewish history is to remind you that although it’s not good to be hypocritical like the Pharisees whom Jesus reprimanded, you don’t want to be a Sadducee either. You exist first and foremost in a Heavenly Kingdom and everything around you is a physical representation of a spiritual reality. Yes, it’s important to have influence in the governments of this world, but that influence can only come from the Holy Spirit. Instead of struggling for worldly wealth and power, fight your battles in prayer, store up eternal treasures, and allow the everlasting and Almighty God to work on your behalf to accomplish what could never happen in the flesh!