Recently I’ve completed reading a very powerful book by Os Guinness, entitled “A Time For Truth”. Among other things, the book chronicles America’s moral decent from prioritizing character as being the critical virtue of its leaders to adopting the mantra “Image Is Everything”. It seems like for most people, Christians included, the goal is no longer to maintain our inner goodness as long as we look good on the outside. All that matters is what people think about you and how you are viewed by the public, not who you really are in the quietness of your own conscience. It’s almost as if we are all actors on a stage putting on a performance for the watching world who thinks that our lives are the sum total of what they can see played out before them. But the fact is that God seems to be far more concerned with who we are when the curtain drops and no one is looking, than when it is time for lights cameras and action.
In 1 Samuel 16 the Lord challenges the Prophet Samuel to look for a King to replace Saul, whom He had rejected. Like most of us Samuel no doubt was looking for a man of stature who exuded strength, skill and leadership, however God’s evaluation of our greatness is measured by a much different standard. In one of the most memorable quotes from the Old Testament God says to Samuel in verse 7 “…Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” This highlights the stark contrast between God and man on how we measure such things as righteousness and unrighteousness, failure and success. In our generation, however, the greatest sin is not being bad, but rather it is looking bad. So with the help of make-up, spin, lies and deception leaders and non-leaders alike can mask the true condition of their hearts and lack of moral character like never before.
This is unfortunately, being played out all around us as seen in local politics, day to day church life and the number of broken families in our community. As a Pastor, husband, father but most of all as a Christian I fear that danger of falling into the shallowness of believing that image is more important than internal character. I realize that my wife, daughter, church and community need for me to demonstrate real moral character and not just a fake external image. I have worked hard to avoid this pitfall and have searched for safeguards for protecting my heart against Satan’s subtle deceptions. I would humbly request your prayers in this area and would love to hear your comments and recommendations on how we as Christians can avoid prioritizing outer image above inner holiness and how we can make sure we are keeping character first.
