Proverbs 6
1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. 3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
5 A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.
6 In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.
7 The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
9 The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.
10 Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
11 Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
(Scripture taken from the King James Version, 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States. To read this passage from The Message, go to www.biblegateway.com and do a passage lookup.)
For most of my adult life, I’ve had brittle fingernails. They break and chip easily. I can polish my nails one morning, and by nightfall, I’ve got chips in the polish. I am always trying to file a rough edge, and on a couple of fingers, the fingernail is usually broken off as short as possible. For most females, the appearance of their hands is something of great importance. We feel that you can tell a lot about us by looking at our hands. And while there is nothing wrong with neat short fingernails, chips and cracks and rough edges can speak volumes. Right or wrong, we women feel this indicates a lack of attention to detail on our part and portrays us as unkempt – even unattractive! This may or may not be the case, and we know the truth in our hearts. Maybe we just work hard and don’t have time to worry about our hands and nails. Maybe, like me, all efforts to keep pretty, neat hands is futile. But quite often, we are judged on our outward appearance, and right or wrong, this includes our hands.
For me, the solution has come in the form of acrylic nails… yes, fakes! I glue them on in about 5 minutes, and my hands are transformed by the addition of perfectly shaped nails with shiny white tips that look like I just stepped out of the nail salon. I know they are temporary. In fact, I know that, if not carefully glued, one could pop off at the most inopportune moment and cause me much embarrassment! And, there are certain things I cannot do while I am wearing the fake nails. I can’t play a guitar. I have to be careful not to flex my fingertips when picking up items. And when I have really serious work to do with my hands, like housework or gardening, the nails have to come off! My nails look nice and give me a sense of confidence, but I know they aren’t real… and I know what lies underneath – and honestly, these fakes cause the “real” nails to grow even weaker!
Now why am I talking to you about my fingernails? I am using this as a somewhat silly analogy of how we behave with God. There are times we must wear a mask in public – times when we must be polite when we feel grumpy or endure a party we didn’t want to attend. We may not love our job every day, or we may not enjoy the company of every person we encounter. And yet we must smile and pretend everything is wonderful. We all have thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are less than attractive. We try to cover them with witty remarks, behaviors that conform to society’s dictates, and even lies and deceits. But God knows us. He knows our hearts and what lies there. He knows if we are lazy in spirit. He knows when we curse someone under our breath. He knows when we act one way on Sunday and another the rest of the week. He knows our weaknesses. And in many situations He is not amused by what we are covering.
Look, acrylic nails don’t hurt anything. People wear wigs, hairpieces, false eyelashes, lifts in their shoes, and all sorts of “enhancements” to make themselves appear more attractive to others and to boost their confidence. But like the fake fingernails, when you have serious work to do - serving God and living for Him - the phoniness and lies have to go. The fake “you” may work in polite society, but it does not work in the Heavenly realm, and that’s the one that matters. So choose carefully how you behave. Search your heart and see where you may be deceitful and not even realize it. Then ask God to show you how to correct this. Be careful what you “glue over” and make sure what is underneath is pleasing to God and strong in His sight!
©2007 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment