Smoke Out False Fronts

Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. Titus 1:15

I do a lot of hiking in the Sierra Nevada, especially around Yosemite National Park, which is home to some of the oldest giant sequoias in the world.

These great trees have a natural retardant in their bark, so they can remain standing even if their core is badly burned by a forest fire. Sometimes a healthy-looking tree is just a shell of its original self, hollowed out by fire.

Paul warns against people whose insides have been gutted by corruption. Like the hollowed-out sequoias, these people appear to share your values, but they’re incapable of pure motives because their hearts and minds have atrophied into worthlessness.

Forest rangers keep an eye on these hollowed out trees because they can easily become diseased and damage healthy trees nearby.

You’ll want to do the same for the people you’ve been given to lead.

Don’t be fooled by deceptive exteriors.