cleaning the inside of the cup

Jesus has seven "Woe's" that he pronounces on the religious leaders of his day recorded in Matthew 23:13-36. It's easy for me to read these on cruise control, smugly thinking to myself that I'm glad I'm not like those Pharisees.

Only, after further inspection, the comparison isn't as far-fetched as I'd like it to be.

So here's the brief version of the Woe's, with one question for each that I asked myself this morning:
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1. You shut the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces, neither entering yourself, nor allowing others who would to enter.

Q: Am I bringing others with me into the Kingdom of heaven, by grace alone through faith alone?

2. You travel abroad to make a single convert and when you do, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are.

Q: Realizing that my practices are multiplied into those I lead spiritually, is my life following in line with Scripture or with mere tradition? Have I examined it carefully?

3. You say it's more important to make an oath by the gold of the temple or by the gift on the altar than by the temple or the altar itself.
[Christ is calling out the Pharisees as "blind" and "fools" b/c they neither see nor understand that God calls for utter faithfulness to Him that is not dependent on nuances of words.]

Q: Am I walking in faithfulness to God's word or am I trying to find loopholes and ways around wholehearted obedience?

4. You tithe mint, dill and cumin and neglect the more important things of justice, mercy and faithfulness - which you should do without neglecting the other.

Q: Am I following the "weighter matters" of the law, even when it goes unnoticed, while still obeying the more noticeable commands, or am I only doing what will be seen by others?

5. You clean the outside of the cup but the inside is still full of greed and self-indulgence.

Q: Am I concentrating on my outward appearance of righteousness for the approval of others or am I focusing on the inward and true righteousness of faith in Christ and obedience from the heart, even when unseen by man?

6. You are whitewashed tombs - you appear beautiful on the outside but are dead on the inside, you appear righteous but are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Q: Am I seeking conformity to the law of Christ or merely giving lipservice and ultimately following my own law?

7. You build the tombs of the prophets saying "if I lived in the days of my fathers I wouldn't have murdered these prophets" -- and in your lives you show that your are the murderers sons.
[By only outwardly honoring the prophets but not following what the prophets preached, they show that they do not honor them from their hearts.]

Q: Am I honoring Christ with my life - day in, day out; seen or unseen - or just with my words and outward appearances towards others?