Have you ever met someone who presented beautifully in
public? A person who was the picture of concern, kindness and godliness but turned
out to be totally different “behind closed doors”?
I was listening to the local radio station recently
when a song called “Ugly Heart” by the group G.R.L. came on.
Let me share with you the lyrics of the chorus:-
“Okay you're pretty your face is a work of art. Your smile could light
up New York City after dark. Okay you're coverboy pretty stamped with a beauty
mark. But it's such a pity a boy so pretty, with an ugly heart.”
To be honest, as I was listening to this chorus my mind
was working overtime. I was reminded of people who I have come across who I felt
the song lyrics could have been written about. As each person flashed into my
mind I thought about why I saw them that way.
I thought about the events which caused me to be so sure they were
presenting a fake persona to the world but in effect had a tainted character in
the form of an “ugly heart”.
As I was justifying to myself why my opinions about the “blasts
from my past” were correct, I got that uncomfortable feeling that one gets when
heading down a path they should not go.
The feeling which I recognised as God’s prompting. So I paused, and
pondered the motives behind the thoughts going through my mind. It was then that it dawned on me, the person described
in the chorus could just as easily be me!
If I am not careful I could be a person who presents one persona
to the people around, one of kindness and godliness, one of compassion and
understanding, but inside my heart attitude could be ugly – self-seeking,
arrogant, mean and manipulative.
“As water reflects a face so a man’s heart reflects
the man” Proverbs 27:19 (NIV)
What a wake-up call! I need to ensure that I am so in tune with
God that I do not fall into the trap of using God’s word or people to ensure
that I get what I want. I need to make
sure that when being compassionate and understanding towards people, in particular
people that I struggle with whether it be in my family, church family or
workplace, that I don’t speak badly of them when they are no longer in my
presence. I need to make sure that my
character reflects that of Jesus in all that I do.
When pondering ways that would build on my character to
ensure that it reflects the heart of Jesus, I came across a devotion written by
Loree Lough which
really challenged me. The devotion talks
about character as follows:-
“Do to others as you
would have them do to you”. Luke 6:31(NIV)
“You’ve heard it said that reputation
is what others think you are but character is who you are……..I hope that by
living by the Golden Rule, my reputation as a woman of Christian character will
precede me…and follow me… everywhere.”
What we reflect to the world will either bring glory
to God or bring glory to ourselves. It will build up God’s kingdom and draw
people near giving us moments where we can share the gospel, or it will assist to harden
their hearts and make them avoid Church all together. I pray that we never lose sight of this in
our day to day lives. I pray that each
one of us shines our light for Jesus so brightly that when they look at us all
they see is Him.
References: Image: https://slowmuse.wordpress.com/2008/07/
Quotes:
Holy Bible: New International Version. (2011).
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan
“Be
Still and Let Your Nail Polish Dry: 365 Day Inspirational Devotional” by Andrea
Boeshaar, Sandra D. Bricker, Loree
Lough and Debby Mayne
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/grl/uglyheart.html
