Keeping up appearances

Today: Ezekiel 13-15

This may sound bizarre, but when I'm sick and tired--but not sick and tired enough to miss work--I like to dress up. I'll make sure that my hair looks good, I'll dress well and I'll put on make-up. I do these things when I'm sick and tired because...they make me look better than I actually feel. And perhaps in some twisted way, if I look better, I start to feel better.

If I instead uncharacteristically wore glasses out in public or ditched make up, I would hear comments from people like, "Are you okay?" and "Is something wrong?" And rather than subject myself to those questions or tell other people, "Yes--I'm sick/tired today," I'd rather just keep up status quo appearances.

Perhaps that's okay when it comes to actual appearances...but what about "keeping up appearances" spiritually?

In today's passage, God had some interesting things to say about prophets (think pastors, teachers or leaders today) who gave messages to God's people, in God's name...that weren't from God. At all. These prophets told the people what they wanted to hear--they whitewashed the walls God meant to tear down. Take a look at what God said here:

"The fact is that they've lied to my people.

They've said, 'No problem; everything's just fine,'

when things are not at all fine.

When people build a wall, they're right behind them

slapping on whitewash.

Tell those who are slapping on the whitewash,

'When a torrent of rain comes

and the hailstones crash down

and the hurricane sweeps in and the wall collapses,

what's the good of the whitewash

that you slapped on so liberally,

making it look so good?'

Wow. How many times do we as human beings try to make things look good--instead of obeying what God says or facing a reality that may not be the pretty picture we want to see?

God called this prophets liars and pointed to the futility of their efforts. Ultimately, God is truth and all-powerful--He sees through any whitewashing efforts we make. He knows the difference between good and evil and can discern when we're just trying to make something look good.

The context of this passage is really about the authenticity of leaders' words to God's people. However, I think there are broader applications that apply to anyone reading this post. Here are a few related questions I'm thinking about...and perhaps you may want to consider as well:

• Can you think of a time when you tried to "whitewash" God's Word in your life? In someone else's life? How did sugarcoating God's message make you feel? How did it impact others?
  
• What does being an authentic messenger of God's Word look like in the real world? What are the pros? The cons?
  
• What are some things God's people do to "keep up appearances?" How do you know whether or not someone is just keeping up an appearance--or really doing the right things with the right motives?

Tomorrow: Ezekiel 16-17