"Broken Beneath"

"Judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment." John 7:24 

You've all heard the old sayings, "Looks can be deceiving" and "Not everything that glitters is gold". Some things you can't take at face value, you have to examine them. Recently, I was in a store and found a clearance sale aisle. One of the items that was marked down was a planter. It was ceramic, nice large size and very beautifully decorated. It was 66% off the original price so it hardly cost anything. I liked it and another lady who was looking at it liked it as well. It was a perfect piece-- beautiful and cheaply priced. Did I buy it? No. Did the other lady buy it? No. We left it on the shelf.

We didn't purchase it because when we picked it up, the whole bottom of the planter was cracked. Although it looked pretty, looked desirable, was well priced, it was useless and worthless because it was broken.

The devil paints a pretty picture for us. He tries to make things look desirable and enticing. He tries to make you see something "good". He doesn't reveal the "under side" that is broken. He paints pictures that make cheating on your spouse look appealing-- after all, that other person listens to you and understands you, your spouse doesn't. He transforms lies into something that is acceptable because it helps you get what you want-- it's just a little "white lie". He only shows you the glamorous side, the fun side, the pleasurable side. He doesn't show you the side that loses everything. He shows you how cool it looks to smoke and drink, but he doesn't show you the side where your health is destroyed, and life ruined because of it. He shows you fame and fortune, but he doesn't show you the sacrifices of integrity, morality and peace of mind that often accompany it.

The planter we were looking at looked too good to be true, and it turned out to be just that. When something looks too good to be true, it usually is. You should stop and take a second look. You should examine it a little closer. The good things that come from God don't just look good on the outside, they are good through and through. He gives us every good and perfect gift, not just something that has the appearance of good but is broken.

Have a great day. Looks can be deceiving, so look at it a little closer.

For further reading:

2 Corinthians 11:13,14
James 1:17
1 John 4:1