By Robert Hitchman
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Matthew 23:27
With Thanksgiving upon us I know my wife will shortly be on me to put up the Christmas decorations. Right now we live in a modest home so our decorations will be nice but nothing elaborate. Just a string of multicolored lights on the front porch and side deck with Christmas colors projected on the front and side of the house.
That reminds me of a street in a neighboring county my wife and I used to visit every year just to see the Christmas decorations. It was on a dead-end street with only about five or six homes. Granted, these were upscale homes for sure. To let you know how elaborate these decorations were they had to have a police officer direct traffic. We actually traveled about 30 minutes, including crossing a bridge, to get there. I’m sure many other people traveled some distance to see this. Some of the homes had the Nativity scene, others had Santa and his reindeer, while others had life size carolers, complete with music. And of course, lights on the house and any trees. I shudder to think of their light bill!
OUTSIDE BEAUTIFUL, INSIDE DEAD MEN’S BONES
These elaborately decorated homes got me to thinking about a few things. I reflected on what Jesus said about white sepulchres (tombs). He likened the scribes and pharisees to beautifully decorated tombs. Beautiful and gorgeous on the outside, but on the inside, filled with nothing but dead men’s bones.
So, I wondered about the families that lived in these homes. Do these beautiful decorations truly reflect how these families are? Are they a loving, caring family that truly love each other and their neighbors. Do they spend quality time with each other and reach out to be a blessing to their community? Or are the decorations just a show to cover up the lack of love in the home. An attempt to cover up a dysfunctional family in an upper-class neighborhood.
JUDGMENT STARTS AT HOME
Obviously, I as an outsider have no way of finding this out. But what it does do is force me to look in the mirror and check out my life. Am I someone who just puts on a good Christian show, especially at church. Someone who knows how to speak Christianese, just to impress everyone how “spiritual” I am. Or do I really live the life of a Christian. You know, do I walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
And I’m not the only one who needs to do a consistent self-checkup. Anyone who calls themselves a true born-again believer needs to do this on a regular basis. Of course, Christmas is a good time to start if you’re not in the habit of doing this. I know the world commercializes the Christmas season (sometimes not even using the word Christmas), but you don’t have to follow the world’s lead. Especially if you go to a good Bible-based, Bible-teaching, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led church with a good Pastor and you have some good Spirit-filled friends. You can always check to see if you’re walking the walk.
MAN LOOKS ON THE OUTSIDE BUT GOD LOOKS ON THE HEART
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m a big confession guy. You’ll always hear me confessing my victory. “I’m Blessed and highly favored!” “I’m Blessed coming in and Blessed going out!” etc. My main point is this. All that can’t be just to show people how spiritual we are. We have to, as I heard one preacher put it, be God-inside minded. Are we consistently praying when no one sees us? Are we walking in love and forgiveness, especially towards unlovely people? Two things we need to be is, quick to repent, quick to forgive. Are those attributes that define our lives?
The only way I know to do this is to spend quality time with the Lord in prayer and in His Word, as well as consistent church attendance and fellowship with people of like precious faith. We all need this so we can be built up and encouraged in the faith as well as, when needed, corrected, and/or rebuked, in love.
All this is so we won’t be, like some of these homes, beautiful on the outside, but full of dead men’s bones on the inside. Our external beauty should be a reflection of how we look on the inside, not in spite of it. I believe if we do this, it will ultimately help us to achieve what should be the goal of every believer. To stand before the Lord and hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” Selah!