Behind the lights....

When my kids were little we used to drive around and look at the Christmas lights. There was a cul-de-sac that my kids always loved where every house decorated with a theme, and it was pretty spectacular. I am friends now with some of the ladies in that cul-de-sac and have found out that behind those lovely displays, were some very hurting families. We look at the lights and ohhh and ahhhh and think everything must be fine in those homes.

Sometimes it's like that with us too. We try to look good so no one will know how frail we are in our humanity. Or we look at others and think they have it all together because they look so good.

When we were in Las Vegas once with some high school students, we were traveling through and stayed at a motel there, the kids were amazed at the lights of the city and some thought it was beautiful. One girl was so thoroughly enthralled that we were concerned we had made a mistake by going there. We took them to a buffet for dinner, a good cheap way to feed high school boys, and as we walked through the casino to get to the buffet, the kids saw behind the facade. As they watched people sitting pouring money into slot machines or at tables, they realized that it was not what it appeared and the girl who was so enthralled mentioned that it was just like evil. Sometimes it can look attractive and inviting, but it's just a ruse.

I'm sure it's the taking down of the Christmas tree and decorations that has put me in this reflective mood. But it is good to be reminded to look beyond the facade.

In John 7, Jesus tells us to "not judge according to appearance, but to judge with righteous judgment". I would like to be obedient to this statement and to look to the heart, not the outer appearance. If you ever see me being disobedient to this truth, please confront me on it.