One of the old sayings that I try to
live by is “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” It comes in many forms, such
as “Things aren’t always what they seem,” and although it is a cliché, it’s
still true. I’ve mentioned elsewhere that I am afraid of thunderstorms.
Specifically, what always rattled me was the thunder because of its loudness.
The lightning only bothered me because I knew that the loud thunder would not
be far behind it. It wasn’t until much later that I learned that thunder was
merely noise, but it wouldn’t hurt you, and the silent lightning was what could
harm you if you were extremely unlucky enough to be hit by it.
There are other instances of things
which appear to be beneficial yet can hurt us if we are not vigilant. For
example, people who seem to be full of piety and keeping up a good appearance
may be exactly that, or they may just be showing off to “show” their worth to
an admiring world. It is up to us to discern the wheat from the chaff and to
practice that which we have been commanded to do.
Jesus warns us against falling into
this trap in Matthew 6. When we give alms, or pray, or fast, we are told not to
make a big display of these actions; Jesus tells us that those who do these
things ostentatiously “…have received their reward.” We are instead told to do
these things in secret, for “your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will
reward you.” In both cases, things are not what they seem, but only one course
of action will meet with God’s approval. May we strive never to fall into the
trap of doing the Lord’s work merely to bolster our egos, but always to further
the advance of God’s Kingdom here on Earth.
