Cleaning the outside ... Problem of the hour

Date: 26 September 2014   Read: 441

We live in an age where people focus on ‘image’ and what is called ‘branding’ in business terms.

If you want to go for an interview, you will be told how important it is to make an impression at first sight. Having the right look and image is everything; hence, some people even forget to prepare for the content of their interviews, hoping that their good looks will earn them jobs.

In our reflection last week, we noted whilst interpreting Luke 11:37-41 that the Pharisees were not bothered about the inside but just the outside. They were not worried about one’s relationship with God; their interest was on the fulfilment of the law. Observance of the law was more important to them than having a healthy relationship with God, and they were more interested in impressing men than God. They accused Christ in so many instances of not observing the Law of Moses.

As we reflect on Luke 11:37-41, it is clear that Jesus and his disciples were accused of not cleaning their hands before eating. The pharisees' concern was not about the health value of the food that the disciples were eating, but their eating without washing their hands. What mattered to them was not whether Jesus and his disciples were eating junk, but the observance of the law. Because of societal pressure, we have come to believe that outward beauty is  the only thing that is important. We still behave in more or less the same way as the Pharisees.

We even go to an extent that our way of life resembles that of the world. Some model themselves after TV superstars and wear clothes like they do, eat like them, talk like them and want to replicate them in every way. Many get to be consumed by the spirit of materialism.

Our being and actions are there to make an impression. Our association is even one determined by the looks and material possessions that we have. Churches suffer division, where people who are wealthy or well off always want to associate with others who are well off. Those who are educated also want to associate themselves with the educated. We are prone to embrace the spirit of competition, which ultimately brews division and even hatred among God’s people.

Cleaning the outside of the cup can be very dangerous if the outside is not informed and shaped by the outside. That is why there is a saying, “looks can be very deceiving”. When we want to wash the outside at the expense of the inside, we end up developing pride – even spiritual pride - and despising others in the process.

We trample on one of the profound principles of faith: 3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). When we avoid the dangers of cleaning the cup on the outside, we also avoid strife in our marriages. Focus on the inside and save your marriage. - Prof Derrick Mashau, ([email protected])