Some years ago, my family owned and operated a small local store. One of our acquaintances, Lenora, needed a job, so we offered her a position. One day a customer came around a shelf and recognized her. Immediately there was a round of "Hello's!" and "How are you's?" and "So good to see you's!"
As soon as the customer left the store, Lenora turned to the rest of us. "I cannot stand that woman!" she said. We were surprised. We would never have guessed it while the two of them were conversing!
A few weeks later Lenora had a chance to prove to us just how much she really disliked the woman. She saw the familiar car pulling up near the storefront. "Quick!" she hissed to her friend, who happened to be by the counter. "Help me hide!" The rest of us watched in amazement as she crouched on the floor and her friend covered her inert form with a pile of clothes and boxes that lay nearby.
The customer approached the counter. It was difficult not to look toward the innocuous pile of clothes which was trembling slightly as the woman made her purchases and left the store.
Consistency. How honest are you? The Bible advises us to let our communication be, Yea, yea; nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:37). Have you ever been caught in the trap of acting like someone's friend to their face and then gossiping behind their back? Do you try to soothe your conscience by hiding under a box emblazoned with the words "Bless her heart?"
There are other areas. Do I righteously agree that listening to secular music is a bad idea, but then have a private playlist I turn to at the hour of midnight? How about the times I know the right words to say to make myself look good to others, whether it be at a youth function or a staff visit? When we are asked questions we don't wish to dwell on and people get too close to our uncomfortable truths, many of us have a pile of boxes we burrow under in a hurry, excuses that we always turn to no matter how shaky they may be.
Let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay. How confusing it must be to my students when I let something go one day, but then get onto them the next! My witness surely becomes muddled when I speak about obeying authority, then grumble wrathfully about some law or guideline I don't appreciate.
None of us are perfect, but we need to strive to be consistent in and out. What I say to one person needs to line up with what I tell someone else. Actions need to line up with my beliefs. Don't act friendly one day if you plan to hide under a pile of clothes tomorrow. No, you can't go around being rude to people, but you need to work on the root of the problem, not try to tell yourself you're doing the best you can by avoiding the problem.
It's not easy. It can be embarrassing and vulnerable to remain open and honest, yet striving for consistency will help you keep to the path you wish to travel more than you think. You can't trick yourself into believing you are OK in your Christian life if you refuse to hide under the boxes and instead take an honest look at your discrepancies.
I want to look clearly at my life and take consistency to heart. I want to learn to be open to the places where my path may lead if I commit whole-heartedly to letting my yea be yea and my nay be nay. Throw out the boxes. Toss the old clothes. Let's stand tall with nothing to hide, knowing that God himself blesses the heart that has the courage to be honest and consistent in all one does.
As soon as the customer left the store, Lenora turned to the rest of us. "I cannot stand that woman!" she said. We were surprised. We would never have guessed it while the two of them were conversing!
A few weeks later Lenora had a chance to prove to us just how much she really disliked the woman. She saw the familiar car pulling up near the storefront. "Quick!" she hissed to her friend, who happened to be by the counter. "Help me hide!" The rest of us watched in amazement as she crouched on the floor and her friend covered her inert form with a pile of clothes and boxes that lay nearby.
The customer approached the counter. It was difficult not to look toward the innocuous pile of clothes which was trembling slightly as the woman made her purchases and left the store.
Consistency. How honest are you? The Bible advises us to let our communication be, Yea, yea; nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:37). Have you ever been caught in the trap of acting like someone's friend to their face and then gossiping behind their back? Do you try to soothe your conscience by hiding under a box emblazoned with the words "Bless her heart?"
There are other areas. Do I righteously agree that listening to secular music is a bad idea, but then have a private playlist I turn to at the hour of midnight? How about the times I know the right words to say to make myself look good to others, whether it be at a youth function or a staff visit? When we are asked questions we don't wish to dwell on and people get too close to our uncomfortable truths, many of us have a pile of boxes we burrow under in a hurry, excuses that we always turn to no matter how shaky they may be.
Let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay. How confusing it must be to my students when I let something go one day, but then get onto them the next! My witness surely becomes muddled when I speak about obeying authority, then grumble wrathfully about some law or guideline I don't appreciate.
None of us are perfect, but we need to strive to be consistent in and out. What I say to one person needs to line up with what I tell someone else. Actions need to line up with my beliefs. Don't act friendly one day if you plan to hide under a pile of clothes tomorrow. No, you can't go around being rude to people, but you need to work on the root of the problem, not try to tell yourself you're doing the best you can by avoiding the problem.
It's not easy. It can be embarrassing and vulnerable to remain open and honest, yet striving for consistency will help you keep to the path you wish to travel more than you think. You can't trick yourself into believing you are OK in your Christian life if you refuse to hide under the boxes and instead take an honest look at your discrepancies.
I want to look clearly at my life and take consistency to heart. I want to learn to be open to the places where my path may lead if I commit whole-heartedly to letting my yea be yea and my nay be nay. Throw out the boxes. Toss the old clothes. Let's stand tall with nothing to hide, knowing that God himself blesses the heart that has the courage to be honest and consistent in all one does.
Thanks!❤
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