Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Matthew 23:25
Looking good is the goal of many people. Their yard is kept up and very well-manicured. There are nice flowers and plants that are maintained that are the envy and talk of all the neighbors. Everything looks like it is in the right place and is the place to be. Inside the house shows a different story. Inside there is trash lying around and everything is broken and not maintained. Clean on the outside, dirty inside.
Matthew records Jesus condemning the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. He says they clean the outside of the cup, but inside are dirty with extortion and selfishness.
Walking down the street one cannot tell how a person really is by looking at them from the outside. A person can be dressed up in a fine suit and tie or a dress looking great and successful on the outside as a great person. Yet, on the inside be someone totally different.
Selfishness often fills the hearts of people. Everything that they do is about self and building self up. This can even occur when doing something for someone else. Instead of being focused upon helping someone else, it is done to look good to others.
Actions like this occur on a regular basis inside the church. People will worship God, quote scripture and serve inside the church, but at home and in their heart, it is a different story. Inside they are abusive, cheating, lying, stealing and other sins that reign in the hearts.
Believers are to cleanse the inside first so that they outside can then be cleansed. The heart should match what the outside is looking like. Clean, inside and out.
You probably take a shower on a regular basis to keep your body clean. You are also willing to dress up to look nice when you go out. While these things are good and necessary, you must also clean up on the inside. What is in your heart is more important than how you look on the outside. God sees the heart and its motives. You must be willing to ask yourself if your heart is matching what your outsides actions look like. Do not allow yourself to look clean on the outside and be filled with selfish sin inside.
Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will allow God to cleanse your heart from all sin; that God will see you as clean inside and out; and that your heart will match your outside actions and appearance to both God and others.
Photo by Tigran Hambardzumyan on Unsplash
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