Show and Tell
Remember in elementary school, maybe through 2nd or 3rd grade, kids would bring pets or something they thought cool to share with the class? In Joel 2:13, it seems that God, who sees our hearts and, speaking through His prophet Joel, is calling out the “show” and demanding the “tell” when He says, “rend your heart and not your garments.” In the ancient world, tearing your garments was an outward sign of what was assumed and supposed to be going on inside the heart.
But our hearts will always rat us out,
“…the mouth speaks our of that which fills the heart” (Matt. 12:34). In God’s list of seven things He hates (Prov. 6:16-19), the word ‘hypocrisy’ is not specifically stated. But look at the definition and tell me how it doesn’t define those who are described in the verses: “Hypocrite – one feigning to be what one is not” (Webster). Jesus had little patience with the religious “leaders” of His day, e.g. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”(Matt. 23:24).
In poker, good players look for “tells” in other players.
Joe Navarro, former FBI agent wrote the book, “What Every Body Is Saying, An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-reading People.” (Collins Living 2008). For those of us who aren’t Jesus, how do we discern if someone’s lying to us? One way is to test what they say against Scripture. God’s word never lies, not once. So if someone is pushing an idea that doesn’t totally match what’s said in the Bible, IT’S A LIE. Don’t be afraid to call them out. Defend the Scripture. Another facet of this is, “Does their life reflect their words?” The Bible tells us that we’ll know others by their fruit.
Like the youngsters in the above paragraph,
are we excited about our relationship with the Lord Jesus? Do we show it in our everyday conduct and decisions? Do we tell our salvation story often so it seems natural, not strained or embarrassing? If we can say yes to both questions, then we can expect to hear, “Well done” when we relocate to heaven.
If we struggle with this, it might be worth considering if we have a personal relationship with the God who loves us and forgives us of all our sins through His son. Think about it…Today. Click Here Steps To Salvation to learn more. Thanks for reading.