It's the Inside That Counts

It's the Inside That Counts

 

Dear Champions,

 

I do not know where I got the first part of this excerpt, but the last part is by Ezra Taft Benson.  The Scripture is Matthew 23:27-28 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! … On the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."

 

A British company developed a product call "Spray On Mud" so city dwellers can give their expensive 4x4 vehicles the appearance of having been off-road for a day of hunting and fishing without ever leaving town.  The mud is even filtered to remove stones and debris that might scratch the paint. 

 

There is something within each of us that values how we look on the outside more than who we are on the inside.  Which is more important?  Who we really are, or who we pretend to be?

 

1 Samuel 16:7 says, . . . The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'

 

The inward reality of Christ is what counts, and it will over time produce the outward signs of faith.  Ezra Taft Benson says it best in the following paragraph:

 

"The Lord works from the inside out.  The world works from the outside in.  The world would take people out of the slums.  Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums.  The world would mold men by changing their environment.  Christ changes men, who then change their environment.  The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining