(unmarked journal entry – presumably matthew 23 [the 7 woes])

who do we think we’re trying to fool? we have no idea how ridiculous we look. strutting and preening, acting proud as peacocks, but we’re really molting, mangy vultures…feeding on death and dying ourselves.

if we think we can just ‘do’ something, looking good to those around us and pay no attention to our own hearts, we’ve got another thing coming! we know, we understand completely that God isn’t impressed by outward appearances, but rather that He looks at the depth of our hearts and that He examines the contents thoroughly. There is no fooling Him, even if we manage to fool ourselves. God will not be mocked. We cannot continue to pervert His justice and try to play fast and loose with His Law.

the hour is coming. indeed it has already come, the feet of those who buried our predecessors in hypocrisy are already at the door and we’re next. in the story, ebeneezer scrooge got his second chance, and we, too, have already received ours. it’s do or die time. either consistency and truth rules in our minds, bodies & hearts, or we keep digging our own graves, waiting for that bell to toll.

open your eyes, Church (universal)!

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we must examine our hearts. we must examine our motivations. if we are just getting by, trying to impress others with our piety, when we’re being watched, then we should know that God is going to see right through that charade. that set of attitudes, deep fried in self-righteous pride, is only going to serve to kill our chances of serving our real purpose, which is to glorify God in all we do.

people who claim to serve God, but worry more about how they are perceived (by outward appearance) for status’ sake are sadly mistaken in their priorities. part of me hopes that this attitude died off in the church after the 80’s and early 90’s, but i know better than to be that optimistic. there are still churches out there that strut and preen for each other rather than serving God on their hands and knees. i also want to assume that this attitude is relegated to the western church, and churches in affluent areas. but i know that pride is also the jumping off point for most of our sin.

self-delusion is nobody’s friend. but i hope and pray that God’s people are less like the laodiceans and more like the smyrnans or the philadelphians. the Church (universal) cannot allow the attitudes that Jesus saw in the religious leaders of His day, and whom we pronounced His woes upon.

i am thankful that the church i attend and serve at isn’t a bunch of shallow surface dwellers. we have our own issues, but this isn’t one we deal with on the whole, and i am thankful. praise God…