Colons aren't the only organs that stink

The insides of a human body aren't very pretty (cartoon insides are a little prettier, but not much). My insides are not very pretty either. No, not my intestines, colon, heart, stomach kind of insides, but the other insides. The attitudes, the defenses, the reactions, the stuff that comes out when you least expect it. There are parts of me that I wish didn't exist.

These ugly parts of my inside seem to come to the surface predominantly in my relationships. Perhaps you've had this same thought, "The world would be much better off if everyone saw things the same way - specifically my way" (which would also be your way so you'd be happy as well). Man vs. Woman, Boyfriend vs. Girlfriend, Friend vs. Friend, Relative vs. Relative, Employee vs. Employer. Just some of the relationships where my "insides" don't stay inside.

And as nice as that would be (if everyone saw things my way) I admit (reluctantly) that I'd be a very one-dimensional person and the church would be a very one-dimensional church, in a multi-dimensional world. More and more I am realizing that other people in my life, whether family, friends, or church, can actually help me become a more complete person, more like Christ.

I recently started reading Luke and am paying particular attention to the Pharisees. For some reason I have more in common with them than I wish to admit.

This is Matthews account of Luke 11:39-40:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence! Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so the outside of it may also become clean."

My insides aren't very pretty - both the seen and unseen. As I was looking back on 2009 I resolved to do a few things differently. The Holy Spirit has helped me see that love is a greater motivator than criticism. I don't respond well to criticism, but show me you love me, and it's taken a bit better. Strikingly it's the same with others. Many people look in the mirror and don't like everything they see - both inside the cup and outside the cup. More criticism doesn't seem to be the answer.

Along with the earlier passage about hypocrisy, I repeat this C.S. Lewis quote to myself:

"This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practice ourselves the kind of behavior we expect from other people."

May 2010 (and the rest of my life) be more about cleaning the inside of my cup than pointing out the dirt in others'.