IT’S NOT ABOUT APPEARANCES
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”
Mark 12:38-40 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
We live in a society that is all about appearances. The selfie that is filtered and corrected from 30 different shots to get the right look has become the norm. Even in the church world people love to impress others with their show of spirituality by their public prayers. I remember one man in my younger days would always pray in King James English. It was impressive the way he pronounced those words. But it did seem artificial because he used a totally different voice to pray than his normal voice. Jesus made a vicious attack on the religious leaders of His day. He pointed out their pride and hypocrisy. They wanted people to think they were great but behind the scenes they were mistreating the poor and helpless. We live in a culture of artificial importance. It is not the clothes we wear, car we drive, or home we live in that gets God’s attention. He is interested in our character. Our character determines our value to God. No one can give you character, you must develop it yourself as you walk with God. Our aim should not be the number of followers or friends on our social media accounts. Our aim should be to please God. Pleasing God is rarely something that is done in public. It begins in the closet of prayer where our hearts are shaped and transformed. In the closet of prayer is where our priorities are set. In the closet of prayer, we develop the mind of Christ.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit help me to prioritize pleasing You. Help me to make You the object of my affection. Please help me to be free from pride, selfishness, or anything else that gets in the way of becoming like Christ.
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