What’s Inside?

Sunday’s Monday

I think about this subject often and wonder if I am the only one who wonders what people see when they look at me. The thought starts with this question, if I were a book would people find my cover inviting enough to want to know what’s inside? This is an issue publishers wrestle with on every book, designing a cover that will entice readers to go deeper. Most people deliberately refuse to dwell on the subject because they are afraid of what they may discover in what people say they are and how their desired results may require changes in their lifestyle, which consists of their temperament, attitude, kindness, helpfulness, generosity, humility, and honesty to name a few. These traits all too often determine whether a person finds the desire to go deeper into a person’s story through a relationship. Nevertheless, unlike a book, what is contained inside of us is constantly being changed for the better or worse (wanted or not) according to our choices. Today may just be the day that we act on Proverbs 27:19 (NLT), As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. Question is, do you really want to know? Do you care enough to care? I promise you, God knows, and He cares!

Not sure if deceitfulness is part of our DNA or if it is a learned trait but I am sure it is not good. My definition of deception is a skillfully choreographed attempt at causing something to appear as natural. Great dancers, actors, politicians, and so on have practiced songs, scripts, and speeches to present themselves as natural and sincere. Great magicians spend years designing and choreographing their acts to cause the unnatural to seem natural. Many Christians have been duped into choreographing their spiritual life for any of a million reasons. However, their best performances cannot overshadow the torrid inferno of confusion that continues to rage inside of them. Almost all of these Christians exhibit the same symptoms of no joy, constant complaining, always fault finding, and filled with the why me Lord attitude. Their life seems to continually border on crisis living and negative thinking. A good observationist will notice people leaving any spiritual gathering and pretty well tell who has been in the presence of Jesus while there. We are told in Matthew 15:8 (NLT), ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They’ve merely performed before people for self-recognition.

These statements aren’t written to be judgmental they are meant to be informative, as I sometimes fall prey to judging and being judged myself. Just like the best of us have our little moments of pretentious living and if you say you don’t, well, you be the judge. As my late pastor Joe Dillard preached, a person will not act inconsistently with what they really believe; (For example) if you believe the stove is hot, will you touch it? When we see the wet paint sign many will be forced to touch the paint because of their uncertainty of the truth. They have no idea how long the sign has been there, ergo there is doubt as to its validity. A lot of people today live in this wet paint mode! They don’t know what is real if they can’t touch it! These basically have little to no trust in anything, government, religion, science, or others, and their attitude usually reflects apprehensive uncaring traits as such. As the old song goes, you’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything, and many are falling because of the turmoil of doubt within them. It's not our behavior that is at fault because that is merely the symptom of the cause. The culprit is our belief and faith system, our ability to maintain hope and discover the faith to hold on to that hope. Many have never discovered how pleasant and inviting the real you can be to others. This fear of letting people get too close is fueling a pretentious lifestyle. We are in fact designed to be in close relationships with others God saw in the very beginning that man was not good alone as is reflected when God created Eve to join Adam as is written in Genesis 2:18 (NLT), Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” Every one of us was born with the need to fit in with others and many are scrambling to belong to someone, somewhere, somehow, and are willing to go to the extreme in order for that to happen. Unfortunately, many will fail to successfully complete a long-term relationship because of disguising the real person inside for what they feel is a more appealing image.

My prayer is from Romans 15:5-6 (NLT), 5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, may we understand it’s not about us, it’s all about you and your will for our lives. We are merely a single part of Your plan, perfectly designed to fit the time and space You have selected for us to join with your chosen in completing the plan. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to serve. Amen

HAVE A BLESSED WEEK BY BEING A BLESSING TO OTHERS!

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