The Heart of the Matter.

Many of you are just like me. The reason I say that is due to statistics that tell us young people do not read newspapers. But like me you are getting older and definitely getting wiser. It can be an interesting pass time, thinking we are somehow getting there. Wherever there is?
But we are. And part of it is recognizing who we are and where we are in life. We don’t mince words. We accept the reality of what comes with age and for those with little or no vanity, we accept it as part of the medals we have earned while getting to where we are today.
Case in point. I was at the dermatologist’s office this week having him do weird and wonderful things with my face. Some of you know of what I speak. I had liquid nitrogen thrust at spots on my face that in turn turned uglier then what I went in with. And we let him do this “procedure” without asking how it will affect my looks. Ah. Another part of who we have been goes by the wayside.
And yet, our North American society is consumed by looks. It is big business. So big in fact, all you have to do is turn on the tv and you will be bombarded with miracle potions that will give you a teenage complexion. I have doubts on that one.
People adorn themselves with make up, colour their hair, do piercing, plucking, tattooing and tucking. People are obsessed with what they look like. I have seen bleaching and permanent make up, tanning what things should never be tanned. Then there is botax. Don’t get me started. On top off all this make-up, there are teen clothes on sixty year old and shoes no one was ever intended to wear that go along with matching handbags with the right name emblazoned on then. And not to be out done, people need to smell just right as well.
And what all this is trying to do is give people hope in the fountain of youth. I just read about a moisturizer in a jar that is called, “Hope in a Jar.” This is what it says on the jar. “Where there is hope there can be faith. Where there is faith, miracles can occur.” Right . . . and elephants fly. But people buy the line and buy the cream. Don't get me wrong. I'm not against making ourselves look good. There is nothing wrong with looking the best we can. The thing I am concerned about is being so absorbed in our outward appearance, our inward beauty is of no importance.
You might call me cynical but I think I’m a realist. But more then a realist I believe there is more to a person then what we see. I guess the reason I think the way I do is due to the verse I read again this past week. Read it with me, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
Maybe it’s time to work on our hearts. Not maybe, it is time.
Something to think about.
RB