They say beauty is only skin-deep. What you see on the outside is not always what you get. That is because our heart and mind can be focused on other things. On the outside is only window dressing, without some open-heart surgery there is no way to find out if what you see is what you get. What is hidden in our hearts? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

How many of you like a good leaf pile? I remember as a kid enjoying this time of year, jumping in a pile of leaves. I was careless though, never thought about what might be hidden underneath. Today I wouldn’t just jump in, I’d have to reason out some things and get assurances before I jumped. And then there is the injury thing, I am not as resilient as I was. Who knows if there is a fireplug lurking underneath those leaves?

Jesus talked about something similar that existed in the Church in his day. The leaders looked right and acted right but the reality is they pursued their own benefit and not the benefit of those they lead. They had hidden their motives in their heart. Jesus said this type of activity was impure and dead.

Matthew 23:27; NLT; “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.

We still have the same issue today. When we hide our motives and our actions don’t honor God the results are false, empty, hollow and dead. Many have tried to beat the system, fool those watching and perform for the recognition of others only to fall from grace when the truth is revealed.

Think about the major correction professional sports has undertaken to remove PED’s, performance enhancing drugs, from the playing field. I remember some years ago when they looked the other way. No one wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. We saw records fall as players nearing the end of their careers discovered the fountain of youth and major league sports were only too willing to ride the wave for the almighty dollar.

Many an athlete that accomplished “superhuman” achievements have been brought down. Many asterisks appear in the books that record the false achievements. Records have been nulled and names have been voided. Fans have been exploited. Why? Because of what is hidden from view.  

We rationalize doing something based on the risk of being caught. Is the reward worth it if you received it by doing something illegal, immoral or deceitful? Some would say yes, win at all costs. Some would say yes, as long as no one was hurt. God’s word says no.

We bend the rules in our favor. We want to have everything worked out to our benefit. We spend time trying to figure out how we can get the upper hand and not get caught. We do everything in our power to achieve the best outcome, hiding our efforts undercover.

I have been known to play golf a little. Golf is a very interesting sport. There are no officials out there checking to see if you are following the rules. You and you alone are responsible for enforcing the rules on yourself. Call your own penalties. That’s when it gets interesting. How many of us are ready to turn ourselves in for something that violates the rules that no one else sees? 

If you want to know someone’s true character, play golf with them and watch. Will they cheat themselves? Or will they hold up the integrity of the rules. What does it matter, it is only a game; right? Character matters. What is inside matters more than what is shown to others.

In Luke’s gospel he tells us that the blessings we receive from God are contingent on how we handle the things of this world.  Do we handle them with the moral character that honors God? Do we have an understanding that God’s provision, blessings, are not only for us, but to be shared. Do we view these resources as someone else’s and are not to be hidden away for our use only?

Luke 16:10-13; “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

God doesn’t need someone to check on us and see if we are genuine. He knows everything we do, seen and unseen. He knows our hearts, no surgery required. He sees the secrets that hide in each one of our closets. We cannot hide them from Him. 

God honors those who honor Him. God’s blessings fall on those who seek him with all their heart. It is not a reward for doing good, like a trophy. It is a result of the condition of our heart. It comes down to a choice. Who will we serve? 

We love to sit on the fence. When we evaluate a situation, we choose which side of the fence we want to jump down on and live accordingly. We choose the side that benefits us the most. God says there are no fence sitters. If our heart’s desire is to please God, good things will result. If our focus is on ourselves, we will miss the blessings that God has for us.

I would like to encourage you to live with integrity in everything you do. Whether seen or unseen we should not need to explain our motives; they should be plain to see. We don’t need to live our lives always looking over our shoulders wondering if anyone is watching. It is difficult to move forward if we are always looking behind, trying to figure out who is watching. In all we do we should not be ashamed if it is exposed for all to see. Only when we live like this do we experience the presence of God in our lives and our motives are in plain sight, not hidden.

Blessings,

Pastor Don