Man looks on the outward appearance, God on the heart (I)

There are two aspects of this quote from 1 Samuel 16:7 that I want to look at this morning. The first is perhaps encapsulated by the phrase “There but for the grace of God go I,” that is said to have been spoken by a bishop seeing a man drunk, and lying in the gutter. There is a tendency both inside and outside of the church, to judge those whose behaviour does not measure up to “my standards.” This is pretty dangerous, since “With the measure that you judge, you will be judged” (Matthew 7:2). The bishop realizing the fortunate circumstances of his own upbringing had compassion on the drunk, who likely was far less fortunate. And as someone who ministers both in the prison, and in recovery programs, I hear over and over horrendous stories that make me wonder where I would be, were I in their shoes.

God sees their pain, and is open to their cry, indeed “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). The other thing, is our propensity, the default if you like, to concentrate on being outwardly presentable, rather than dealing with our deeper issues. I was there myself, and I now describe my state in the first two decades of my Christian walk, as that of being a dry drunk. I had dealt with the out-of-control drinking, but I had not dealt with the issues that led me to drink in the first place. I mean you can take Cinderella out of the ash heap, but taking the ash heap out of Cinderella is something altogether different. No doubt she cleaned up real well, but the hurt and pain of life long rejection and abandonment, and the effects of the abuse, would not go away simply by moving to the palace and putting on beautiful clothes.

And it seems to me, this is a description of a large part of the church. In particular, we have concentrated on getting rid the more obvious, public sins. But to quote Jesus “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” (Matthew 23:27). Clearly not everybody in church is like this, but how many people have I met who have been deeply hurt by church? And in Evangelical circles for example, how many people who have difficulty giving up smoking have been and still are, made to feel like second-class citizens? The Lord only knows! I believe this is smoke in His nostrils (pun intended - Isaiah 65:5).

Lord the prayer comes to mind “I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). When we see You Lord, when we encounter You, we see things as they really are. And so in true Biblical tradition, I repent this morning Lord for myself, and for Your church. Father the words of John Arnott keep coming back to me “Revivals end because the leaders don’t get their hearts healed.” Lord, we need You to do this with us all before the coming great end time revival. Jesus You came to heal the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18), so I ask You this morning Lord, to bring is out of denial and into Your glorious light, so that we may be a glorious testimony Your transforming power, in Your precious Name I pray Amen