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
It’s tragi-comic that even after two years of living on the edge with Covid, many people are still obsessed with appearances. We’ve been thoroughly brainwashed by the world. Hence, we parade around in things that are fashionable and pricey so that we can fool ourselves and others into thinking that, yes, we ARE successful. Yes, we HAVE arrived. Yes, we ARE the upper crust. Yes, we HAVE more money than we really have.
We are overly fastidious about how we look. Our clothes Our shoes. Our watches. Our jewelry. Our bags. Our cars. The brands we flaunt. The accessories we use as status symbols. Our silly gadgets. The restaurants and places we have to be seen in. The people we hobnob with. The names and titles we diligently drop.
Have you noticed? The ones who are truly wealthy don’t flaunt it. They’re quiet. Simple. Elegant. Not flashy. It’s the nouveau riche, or those “trying hard” to look rich and successful, who have a tendency to be over-anxious…
Many times, we dress better than we maintain our houses — because who sees our houses anyway, except just a handful of people? But we can easily flaunt our cars and clothes and gadgets to the public, so we spend more on what we can show off. Such duplicity can be tiresome…but some of us just never grow weary of all this posturing.
As our mentor and pastor very wisely advised us 27 years ago, “Live below your means.
Live a debt-free life.” Well, thank goodness, we didn’t have any debts to start with. Our houses and cars are all fully paid for. We continue to follow his advice, and have enjoyed its benefits.
Sadly, our silly pretensions only reveal how deep our insecurities are. And how addicted we are to people’s acclaim and admiration.
It also shows how totally clueless we are about what REALLY matters to God: our character rather than our appearance.
So I advised our daughter who was about to get married: it’s every bride’s dream to have a beautiful wedding. But remember — everything external in a wedding is just window dressing. Frippery. What really matters is that you and your groom are spiritually prepared to be the husband and wife that God wants you to be.
Never sacrifice what’s important to God for appearances. This obsession with appearances eventually leads to an empty, meaningless existence – perpetuated by shallow relationships.
Who wants to live like that?
