Weekly Thoughts

Matthew 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Matthew 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto
whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
Colossians 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Hoping the above was actually read: Years ago I went by my mother’s house to take her the evening meal. A wonderful septuagenarian who enjoys this time of year. She was raking her yard and burning leaves. I am somewhat allergic to pecan leaf smoke. No other smoke seems to bother me but I get ill from leaves burning. Mentioning this to my mom did somewhat upset her as she does enjoy a good fire. Her point was she wanted her yard to be clean and to look nice. It did not matter that she and others were inhaling much smoke and how dirty she got on the inside as long as the outside had a nice appearance. Now do not get me wrong, all of this is understandable and that being especially true of her generation and ideologies. I asked her what would she do if the neighbors complained. She said that she was there first and they could go back to where they came from. To all of that I laughed and went on.

The above seems to be relevant to a point. Most seem to run around clean on the outside and dirty on the inside and working very hard to maintain that appearance, myself being no exception. As long as it is not recognized by the neighbor or others, to be otherwise, then one considers them self all clean and without blemish. In fact most will do anything to maintain such an appearance even at the expense of one’s neighbor. Running them off for the good of maintaining such appearances. That especially being true if one brings it to the others attention. I could go on and on with this but here is the point.

Be very cautious of how you present yourself and your outward appearance in as much as piety and self righteousness is concerned. Fact is, outside of Christ dwelling in us all are as open sepulchers full of all uncleanness. And be cautious as to your conversation. Putting off any egregious or filthy communication out of your mouth. Rather let the communication of your mouth be edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers. You see we are all without excuse and equally guilty but at times we run around all nice and clean on the outside but on the inside, stained from the filth of our own thoughts and actions which are being hidden to maintain such an outward appearance. In fact, most times, from the greatest to the least all are, pretty much. the same in guilt. One will say, I have never done such! If one has broken the law in one point one has broken the law in every point. James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

As such we are all inexcusable and even those who are nice and pretty and clean on the outside are, without a doubt, dirty on the inside. And that is true no matter how hard you work to prove to your neighbor otherwise. Your yard may be clean but the smoke of eternal damnation continues to rise for the lost no matter how saved you appear to be. True, regardless of how saved you may appear to your neighbor and no matter how vociferously you professes to be otherwise.
Outside of Christ, righteousness is only an illusion. And the smoke of eternal damnation continues to rise from the “leaves” raked into a hidden corners of the pristine yards of our lives.

David