Appearing Righteous Outwardly
The story is told about a thief who was nabbed. The
incident took place back in 1887 in a small neighborhood
grocery store when a middle-aged gentleman, Emanuel Nenger,
gave the cashier a $20 bill to pay for the turnip greens he
was purchasing. When the cashier placed the bill in the cash
drawer she noticed that some of the ink from the $20 came
off on her hands which were wet from wrapping the turnip
greens.
She'd known Mr. Nenger for years and was shocked. She
thought, "Is this man giving me a counterfeit $20 bill?" but
she dismissed the thought immediately and gave him his
change. But $20 was a lot of money in those days so she
notified the police who, after obtaining a search warrant,
went to Emanuel Nenger's home where they found in his attic
the tools he was using to reproduce the counterfeit $20
notes. They found an artist's easel, paint brushes, and
paints which Nenger was using to meticulously paint the
counterfeit money. He was a master artist.
The police also found three portraits that Nenger had
painted - paintings that sold at public auction for a little
over $16,000! The irony was that it took him almost as much
time to paint a $20 note as it did to paint those portraits
which sold for more than $5,000 each.
That story reminds me of folks who spend a lot of time and
effort creating an "image" which they can present to people
they come in contact with. They will go out of their way to
make you think they are generous or kind or have some other
godly quality. The irony is that it takes almost as much
effort to create these "masks" as it does to develop the
qualities themselves -- which are infinitely more valuable!
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are
like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful
outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all
uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to
men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
(Matt. 23:27-28)
Take a moment to consider -- are you more interesting in
developing a godly heart, or in trying to make people
*think* you have a godly heart?
Have a great day!
Alan Smith Alan.Smith@whcoc.com
www.TFTD-online.com