The Heart Reveals the Man

"As in water face reflects face, so a man's heart reveals the man."

Proverbs 27:19

In our social media age, people go to great lengths to craft and polish an online persona.  Mobile phones have cameras ideal for selfies complete with settings to remove blemishes.  Instead of mirrors people use their phones to arrange their hair, apply makeup, and practice their perfect "duck face."  Touching up photos is a common practice in magazines to the point where models claim the image presented in print looks nothing like them in reality.  It's a funny thing that mirrors made of polished metal were dim and cloudy, yet with modern mirrors people don't always like what they see.  We aren't comfortable with reality so we feel an intense need to cover up, augment, or smooth out our blemishes with software.

That is the sense of this verse in Proverbs:  the clear reflection of a face in water does not lie.  A mirror image is a true representation of reality.  Sometimes when the conditions are clear and still over a large glassy body of water, the mirror image is breathtaking.  The point being made by Solomon is even as a person's reflection in water is a true indication of reality, so the heart of a man reveals the man in truth.  Spiritually the heart of man is the real person; the habits, body, and mind of the person is the reflection.  There can be a great disparity between what resides in the heart of a man and the carefully crafted image or physique on the outside.  A man who appears in the prime of health can be unknowingly dying of heart disease or cancer.  People can dye their hair, surgically augment their bodies, and refuse to be seen in public without makeup or fashionable clothes.  But it is the inside - not the outside of a person - which provides a picture of a person in truth.

It is cliche to say "it's what a person is on the inside that counts" yet in a spiritual sense the heart is the only genuine indicator of what sort of man or woman a person is.  And according to the Bible, in our natural state the hearts of men aren't a pretty sight.  It reminds me of a poster I used to have in my bedroom of an anti-smoking campaign which pictured a smoking woman supposedly covered in tar with the statement, "If what happened on your inside happened on your outside, would you still smoke?"   I would think very few would answer in the affirmative.  Forget duck face:  old tar-face is not a look any sane person would desire.  We would try to clean up our hearts if we could.  The Bible says Jeremiah 17:9-10, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? ¹⁰ I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."  We might be able to conceal the wickedness of our hearts from men, but nothing is hidden before the searching gaze of God who will judge all in righteousness.

A fair question is posed in Proverbs 20:9, "Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin"?  The rhetorical nature of the verse implies no man can make this claim.  Praise God He has sent Jesus to wash people of sin and to impute His righteousness to all who repent and believe.  Even after we are born again and made new creations, we must continue to guard our hearts and minds.  We can't let a clean complexion in the mirror deceive us to thinking all is well within our hearts.  It is the Word of God and the convicting work of the Holy Spirit which make us aware of our true condition and profound need for cleansing.  Only the power of God can align our new nature birthed by spiritual regeneration with our lifestyles.  It is good for us to labour to this end.  It is easy for us to think clean living ensures the heart is clean, but Christ's criticism of the hypocritical Pharisees is proof of this folly.  It is the condition of the heart which is paramount.

It is not a man's appearance, words, or deeds that make a man:  it is his heart which reveals him in truth.  Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  When you examine your heart, what do you see?  If we are embarrassed about a sliver of lettuce in our teeth or to be seen without makeup, consider this:  if what was inside your heart was exposed on the outside, would you do something about it?  Paul said of Jesus Christ came in Acts 26:18 "...to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me."  Those whose sins are red as scarlet He can wash white as snow.  Good news indeed!

When It Rains It Pours

Today's message at Calvary Chapel Sydney was titled, "When it Rains it Pours."  What has become a modern cliche was first coined and copyrighted as a company slogan by the Morton Salt company in 1911.  It carried quite a different connotation than it does today.  Morton Salt was marketed as superior because of an additive which kept the salt pouring freely even in damp weather.  Today people say "when it rains it pours" to convey how bad or trying circumstances seem to come in bunches.  There are plenty of problems in this world and our lives to be sure, but as children of a loving heavenly Father we can turn our focus in all situations Him with joy.

A common response of all people in the midst of a trial or unfathomable pain is "Why?"  Often God does not give explanations but responds to the humble seeker with a fresh revelation of Himself.  It is good for us to recall to mind how God has already blessed us with life, love, grace, and mercy.  He has continued to rain down blessing on us.  The probing question we are faced with is, are such blessings pouring from our lives?  Pride and selfishness could be compared to the damp which caused salt to clump and hinder it from pouring freely.  We are the salt of the earth, and the Holy Spirit enables us to shed abroad the love of God He has placed in our hearts.  An additive will do us no good:  we need transformation obtained only possible through spiritual regeneration through faith in Christ.

Can you say concerning your life, "When it rains it pours?"  Does the joy, light, and life of Christ have a free release in your thoughts, words, and deeds?  May it be so LORD Jesus!  

The Crown of Glory

"The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendour of old men is their gray head."

Proverbs 20:29

It was in 1994 when I started shaving my head, and this regular practice has continued until this day.  I never really knew what to do with my hair and for years combed it to the side, but a simple buzz cut answered many of those questions.  It looked decent as well.  I find it amusing people pay money to regrow their own hair and I invest in quality clippers to keep it shaved short!  When my hair grows back after a couple of weeks, I often receive comments from friends about how gray it is.  I don't know if having gray hair makes me feel magnificent, but it is a welcomed mark of maturity for someone who historically has maintained a youthful look.

The days of any glory in my strength are near their end, and for me the distinguished splendour of age increases daily with silver bristles.  It is a common practice among many people to dye their hair, so perhaps turning gray is seen more as a curse than a blessing.  But the reality is, not everyone lives long enough to grow gray hair or have it fall out.  I have heard it said the gray head is a sign of wisdom, but this is not a guarantee.  It is true wisdom may grow with age, but all true wisdom comes from God - not from time served on this planet.  Anyone can grow old and gray and be just as foolish, polluted, and dark as ever.  It does not require skill for people to advance in years, but how good it is for your latter years to be deemed your best and brightest.

Long life is a blessing from God, and those who walk in His ways are a blessing to all.  Proverbs 16:31 says, "The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness."  There is great beauty and much wisdom to be gleaned from those venerable saints who have faithfully followed Jesus.  It is a glorious sight to behold a person who loves God and walks uprightly as the shadows lengthen.  They have no physical strength to be desired, but they possess the rare quality that when you converse with them you approach holy ground.  A person's temporary hair colour is insignificant in the gleam of eternity, for it is the adornment of the soul in righteousness that is precious before God.  It is renewing of the inner man day by day by the Holy Spirit which is of great value, not the cutting, arranging, or dyeing of hair.

If the colour, length, or condition of hair on our heads matters to us, how much more important ought it to be for us to live righteously before God and man!  Hair is here one day and gone the next, but God and those who fear Him will endure forever.  It is written of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31:28-30, "Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ²⁹ "Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all." ³⁰ Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised."  A gray head is glorious when it found in the way of righteousness, through faith in Jesus Christ.  May we receive God's grace to walk righteously!

The Arbitrary Risk

I am always wary of arbitrary attempts to catagorise people.  When I worked primarily as a youth pastor I grew weary of hearing the phrase "at-risk youth" which was often used to heighten awareness of need.  This arbitrary term was employed most often to describe unchurched youth raised in a single-parent home.  Statistics were shared to prove how this combination led to many social problems, incarceration, drug and alcohol addictions, teen pregnancy, and violence.  How can you argue with statistics, right?

Since we all have our lenses through which we view the world, I am aware of another group of people which are equally "at risk" because I have experienced and seen it firsthand myself:  those who have been raised in relative comfort with two parents, who grew up attending church, and grew dull and spiritually proud through knowledge.  Seemingly inoculated to the power of the Gospel by much exposure without true repentance, these "churched" kids often grow up to lead lives which rival that of any heathen.  What does it mean, to be a youth "at risk?"  Aren't all young people exposed and susceptible to dangers of all kinds, whether it is pride, lying, hypocrisy, self-righteousness, youthful lusts, fornication, deceit of this world, and greed for riches?  There is a risk which comes from ignorance, and another risk from self-confidence and pride.  There are great needs all around us.

I suppose the reason why this terminology and focus bothers me is the implication particular groups of kids should be more of a priority in ministry than others.  The way it sounds to me is we don't need to worry about the kids already going to church, but those outside the church we need to labour to reach at any cost.  Now I believe we ought to do what we can to sow the good seed of God's Word and be faithful to water wherever God has us, but not to the neglect of one group over another.  I think we miss out when we begin to categorise groups of people instead of seeing individuals with needs and seeking to minister to them as God leads.  Jesus went to the lost sheep of Israel, but He was deeply concerned with individuals.  He addressed crowds but also conversed with people one-to-one.  His did not adopt strategies which translated people into numbers but souls which were hungry, thirsty, and lost.

We cannot solve a single problem of this world  or in the life of another person ourselves, but as Christians we know a Saviour who is able to do everything.  Life brings with it inherent risk for all people, for we live in corrupted flesh in a world under the sway of Satan.  We run the risk in Christian circles of measuring our efforts by worldly and superficial means.  Should I congratulate myself for addressing a million people with the Gospel when I am a dad who is largely absent from the life of my kids?  Is it a divine badge of approval should God use me to lead thousands to profess Christ as Saviour when I place my marriage at risk through sin?  Is it right to exclusively target men, women, youth, or children as a arbitrary ministry strategy based upon statistics and overlook the single person God brings across my path?  How we need to be attentive and led by the Holy Spirit in our ministry.  In spreading the Gospel Jesus did not promote a niche ministry but ministered to all whether they were disciples, family, foreigners, children, groups, and individuals according to the leading of the Spirit at the time.  May His Body today do the same!