Inside and Out

Jesus said:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin,
and have neglected the weightier things of the law:
judgment and mercy and fidelity.
But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.
Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.
Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup,
so that the outside also may be clean.”

Matthew 23:23-26

“You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.”

Let’s look at the idea of ‘the cup and dish’ being ourselves. We look in the mirror and take very good care of our outward appearances – careful of what we wear and how we wear it, cutting and styling our hair, not appearing in public without makeup, getting our teeth whitened, losing those few pounds we don’t like, etc.

Are we that careful with who we are inside? Or do we even refuse to look in the mirror to see who we really are beyond the outside of ourselves? How about the rash judgments I make of other people? How about the extra pounds of anger and resentment I carry in my heart? Does my heart need to be whitened by confessing to God what I have done to hurt others? Do I need to put on new kindness and compassion? Do I need to style my heart in forgiveness?

What we look like on the outside isn’t going to mean a thing if we are “full of plunder and self-indulgence”.

“Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.”

For Journaling…

I look at my heart and soul in the mirror of God’s eyes and see…..

I hear God saying to me….