What’s On The Inside

What’s on the Inside

The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness!”

Luke 11:39

I got an e-mail some time ago with a subject line that read, “Look important with a Platinum card.” In our society we sometimes buy more to make ourselves look better. We dress ourselves up. We move into larger homes and fill our lives with more. But even when we do this, the inside doesn’t change.

Life shouldn’t be about displaying ourselves or making ourselves look good. It should be about revealing what’s on the inside. Revealing ourselves is lifting the mask and letting others know our true selves, no matter how much we want to hide. It’s showing our true essence—what we’re really made of. And even if we don’t, what’s on the inside will come out in our actions and words eventually.

Instead of trying to cover themselves up, the Amish tend to strip their lives down. They don’t have things to hide behind. Their plain lifestyle and clothes reveal something of who they have chosen to be on the inside. Then, for good or bad, they are known for who they are, not for who they display themselves to be.

Luke 12:3 says, “Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!” As humans we can wear a mask or pretend for only so long. At some point, who we are and what we believe and live for will be shouted from the rooftops. In addition, God already knows who we really are. We can’t hide our true selves from Him. Is there an area of your life in which you need Him to strip you of what is not right inside you and then fill you up with His goodness?

Dear heavenly Father, wearing a mask only works temporarily. Show me areas You wish to transform so I’ll no longer have to hide. Then fill me up with Yourself so that I will be ready to proclaim and display Your goodness in every situation.