Clean On The Outside, Messy On The Inside

1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

On yesterday a friend came by to pick me up for lunch. When I got in her car, there was dog fur everywhere, from her sweet dog shedding his fur.  Please be clear, I am not sharing this with you, to be judgmental or gossipy.  This lady has a super busy schedule and I realize that. So I understood that she had been on the go so much lately, that she just had not had a chance to take her car in to be detailed.   In her defense, I must say that I know for a fact that she does have her car detailed from time to time because of her dog’s excessive shedding.

As we were riding, she decided to whip into a local car wash and have her car washed.  Afterwards, it was nice and shiny and it even looked brand new. It’s actually amazing what a little soap and water can do.  But what the other drivers passing by could not see when they saw her shinny cleaned car, was how dirty it was on the inside. I immediately thought that this was so much like life.  How many times do we see someone who is all put together, and we decide that everything in their life runs perfectly? They couldn’t possibly have any issues, because we are basing it on their outward appearance.  Only to find out that they are a hot mess on the inside. They may have low self-esteem, or they may be dealing with low self-worth.

It may be that their life is filled with sin. They may even have secret sins that only they and God know about.  We only see the gorgeous clothes, the flawless makeup, the perfect hair and the matching shoes and purse and we immediately decide that they have it all together.    I want to assure you that at some point, from time to time we all look like the inside of my friend’s car, a mess.  We look great on the outside but we are torn to shreds on the inside with fear, worry or doubt about something.

Today I want us to make a decision to love people where they are, remembering that we are not perfect either.  We are all a work in progress.  We have absolutely no authority to judge anyone.

| Let’s love as Christ loves, and that is unconditionally.
Let’s also commit to spending as much time focusing on our inner self as we do our outward appearance.   When that becomes our focus, I think our world will start to see a change. Have a blessed week my sisters!

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
1 Peter 3:3-4

 

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