Matthew 23:25-26–“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

If you were fortunate to grow up with figures of authority that had standards and expectations, our conscience was shaped behaviorally to conform to them. Growing up in the 80’s it wasn’t uncommon to see kids disciplined harshly in public, for the sake of having well behaved kids as the goal and not embarrass the family name!

It turns out that me and many of my friends may have learned to conform outwardly and behave, but when we got alone away from such expectations and standards we were very wild!  Which means that just because we or our children behave appropriately before authority, doesn’t mean we do so before our peers/friends…

This is why having our hearts changed from salvation is the greatest miracle we can have happen to us, because “with man it is impossible”, but not with God.  To base our judgment of how good or bad someone is, based on their outward behavior in public is naive, even for your own children!  This is why Jesus scolded the Pharisees, because they were masters at public appearance, or “cleaning the outside of the cup”.

To have genuine faith, is the same thing in principle to how we were modified in our behavior as children before authority.  The major difference is that it takes faith, that God is actually our authority, and not someone who is not really there in our private times.

This is why we should definitely be more humble than proud.  Because if you are honest, the private struggle to honor God in our heart and mind might be the greatest battle we will face today.  Which is why faith and repentance to “clean the inside of the cup” should be our daily priority, and not merely performing for the authorities we can see in our lives.

In His Love, Ld