Reading for Today:
Proverb Chapter 30
Gold Nugget
Verse 12: “There is a generation that is pure in its
own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness.”
Commentary
One Christmas while my kids were still at home, I was
trying to find gifts for my daughters. After spending an hour walking around
the store, I decided that I really didn't have a clue of what I was going to
buy these teenage girls. I resorted to the faithful old gift card escape. I did,
however, want a few things to wrap and put under the tree even if it was going
to be something cheesy. I stumbled down the cosmetics lane and found some fancy
little mirrors that light up. I figured they might enjoy them and they were the
perfect size for wrapping. A few days after Christmas, I had to giggle as my
daughters gave me feedback on their gifts. It seems the mirrors had a special
feature that I wasn't aware of. The mirror actually had two sides. One was what
I would consider to be a typical mirror. The other side was some sort of
magnifying mirror that revealed every little pore. Included in the
magnification were blemishes and any imperfections. My daughter shouted, “Dad,
I don’t like this mirror you gave me! It’s too revealing!” It seems that there
were flaws that she was okay with as long as she couldn't see them, but upon
closer evaluation, she really didn't want know about them. In reality, my
daughter is beautiful. I guess most people are just their own worst critic (well
when it comes to their natural appearance anyway). Today’s Christian has a
similar dilemma. We have many issues in our lives that are flawed and may be in
dire need of attention. We may not know they are there, but after a quick
glimpse in the mirror of His Word, we can see just how flawed we are and need
attention. It’s unfortunate, but we are more likely to swivel that mirror back
around and refuse to see ourselves for who we really are. We would rather see
ourselves in the perspective we desire most. We are like the generation
mentioned in today’s “gold nugget” that says, “There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed
from its filthiness.” We are like the person mentioned in James 1:23-24, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and
not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he
observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” We
need to be of a mind that will do whatever the Lord reveals to us in His Word, whether
it is something we are comfortable with or not. It’s His perspective that we
are concerned about and whatever we need to change to please Him, we should be
willing to do it.
Prayer
Lord, thank you for
the true reflection that the mirror of you Word will reveal to us. Give us the
humility to except what you show us and the desire to allow the change. Amen
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