Quiet Time: Looks Good to Me

Looks Good to Me

Read: Jeremiah 5:21-29

Therefore they have become great and rich. 28 ‘They are fat, they are sleek, They also excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;

And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

- Jeremiah 5:27-28

We are easily deceived.

In a social behavior study a man dressed like a bum and asked people for change to make a phone call. No one gave him a dime; literally. To the contrary, most gave him a sour look as they hissed sardonically, "Get a job." Then, this same guy dressed up like a business man. You know, coat, tie, brief case, and all that, and asked passers-by for change; however, this time most people were happy to oblige and often gave him more than he needed. So, what made the difference? Appearance; obviously. Sometimes people fool us and sometimes we fool people, but no-one ever fools God. I suppose, more often than not, we tend to go by what we see not what we know.

Jeremiah was surrounded by people who looked good outwardly yet whose hearts were steadily spiraling downward to wickedness. God, true to His name, Faithful, was pointing out their awful state so that they would repent and return to Him. The leaders, priests, prophets, and their hand-picked cronies were proclaiming and preaching lies; and, get this, the general population loved it! Everybody seemed to be patting the popular guys on the back saying, “Keep it coming man; keep it coming!” Yet, all around them, widows, orphans, and others living life in the shadows were starving both physically and spiritually. No one gave them a second glance, some even took advantage of them, and I’d wager that if the phrase existed back then, a few spat caustically, “Get a job!”

I get tripped up from time to time by leaders who talk well and pander to the crowd. Frankly, some of what they say is true, but most of it is fluff and feel good rhetoric. So, they fool me into listening for a time, but then God calls me close to His side and says, “Child, stop looking at the glitz and come to where I’m working. It may not be sensational but it will always be satisfying.”

Perhaps we would do well to remember that God will right the wrongs and to not be deceived into thinking He isn't in control (Galatians 6:7).

May-be a good goal for us is to simply walk with Him and be wise (Matthew 10:16) because it is so easy to be deceived.