Today, after working for half a day at my job, I was released for the remainder of the weekend. After getting a late start, I thought it would be nice to wash the truck for my wife. It's been a couple of months since it was last cleansed and we're in a break from the rain, for at least a few more days. It was filthy and overdue for a wash.
After getting $20 of supplies from True Value (That's 2 auto-car washes, so I hope to get 5-6 home washes worth, to make it worth it) I hooked up the pressure washer, got a bucket and some rags and went to town. What a transformation! "Lindsay" (yes, my wife named the car) was sparkling like new within about an hour of sunset.
As daylight drew to a close and I packed up the supplies for the exterior, my focus shifted to the car's interior, where a plethora of trash and dust bunnies reside. I was able to wipe down the superficial things quickly, like the top of the dash, but I never ended up getting in down deep, where the real dirt was. The end result? By nightfall, I had a gorgeous truck on the outside, but it was still a miss inside.
Now, check this out.
This past week I have had some serious struggles with my oldest son; I really want to view him as a fine, upstanding young man, but I see so many things in him that drive me nuts. Constant reminding to turn off lights, pick up things, close doors, etc. Stuff I'd hope he'd have mastered since the age of four. Nope. Add to that the growling and acting grumpily if I ask for his help, or for him to do anything other than what he sets his mind to do. Being a father to a teenager just isn't fun sometimes, at least for me. Often I harbor resentment toward him, because he simply will not listen to me, or it appears he goes out of his way to try and do exactly what I ask him not to do. Maybe that's most teenage boys? Sometimes when we argue, I become the mature equivalent of a teenager myself, sinking to his level and saying and doing things that Jesus wouldn't approve of.
The soreness of attitude between he and I definitely impacts my relationship with my wife. She sees things escalate between my son and I, and more often than not we start to drift apart as well. Everyone loses. I'm asking the Lord to help with this, because I can't fix this in my own strength.
Now, Fast forward to last night.
I was at a Men's conference in Salem with some of the guys from my church. It was really great to get together and learn from the guest speaker. He said so many things that pertain to being a Godly Man of Action and I took notes, so I'm sure to blog about them at a later date. But it was during worship music at that event that I make my next point.
There was a man there whom was singing with the rest of us, only he was extremely loud and way off key. It was so pronounced that at times I was distracted and began to think judgmental thoughts. "Goodness, is he serious!?" "Can't he tell he's way off?!" Then it hit me; here we were singing in a gathering and outwardly, I was singing better than he was, but inwardly my heart was not in the right place. God no doubt saw us both for who we were at that point and I've got to tell you, that man was shouting to the Lord in praise and my heart was distracted and ugly. Whom was the better man here? I think we'll both agree it wasn't me. During the songs, I repented and asked that Lord willing, he allow that man to keep belting it out for the glory of God and to turn my heart into praise as well.
Now let's get back to the car.
It was clean outside this afternoon, but was still a mess inside. I just realized that sometimes I'm 'clean' outside, but inside there is still a ton of cleanup and restoration that must take place. I'll be able to clean the car out tomorrow, but only Jesus Christ can take up residence in my heart and transform my likeness to His, from the inside out.
Matthew 15:1-20 (New International Version)
Clean and Unclean
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
3Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, 'Honor your father and mother'[a] and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'[b] 5But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' 6he is not to 'honor his father[c]' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'[d]"
10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "
12Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"
13He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave them; they are blind guides.[e] If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
15Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."
16"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "
Matthew 23:25-28 (New International Version)
25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Good Night
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