Day 4000 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Matthew 23:5 NIV

On second thought

EVERYTHING we do is done in vanity. It’s not just our approaches to faith, belief, worship or wisdom that are anymore given over to being nothing more than performances put on from stages so as to be seen by those who we believe are watching us, looking unto us to lead them in the way they should go. No, in truth we even worship ourselves in vain! It’s not just God who’s getting the leftovers of an arrogance so wide and deep and high that hell will struggle to hold it all.

Even we are victims of our own ego-driven intentions which are themselves clear derivatives of what is a devotion only unto ourselves.

And even that is only skin deep!

Indeed, it seems that all we know how to be are but these surface swimmers who’ve plenty of ability and opportunity to dive far deeper into everything we do, and yet do still so little and only that for what amounts to only praise from people. Again, mostly only ourselves! In fact I dare say that we’re each so pleased and impressed with ourselves that our souls may at this point honestly believe that we’re truly God himself or at the very least some highly-regarded secretary or something.

Because we’ve got such an opinion of ourselves that it takes a literal act of God Himself to undo all we’ve done in our doing of all we did to become whatever this is that we’ve been for so long now that the only way for our to ever become anything better is to unravel everything and head back to the beginning.

That’s why so much of true faith hinges upon this most hopeful of idea that is to be born again.

It’s because the first time we were born it was into sin, a sight shown basically every single time we say, do, think, or believe anything anymore. For again, everything we do, everything thus we are, it’s all for show. And at this point I honestly don’t even know that we know when the show ends and real life begins because the two have become one and the same up to this point in which we’re of the frame that seeks the fame craving the fortune sure to be found in pleasing those many others who too are still combing only this ground seeking all of their gain.

That’s why we do it!

It’s because we’ve become quite well convinced that this place houses, somehow, the very substance of that which is to be our reward in what’s then a clear letting go of both that promise of Heaven and the subsequent call to store all such treasures as hope, peace and pleasure only in that place that simply isn’t this one. No, this world is definitely not Heaven. At least I hope it ain’t for if it is then we’ve been lied to and left for dead in a place dying a little more every day to everything that’s in any way good and better than whatever it is that this world’s already become and is sadly becoming even more.

Indeed, this place is filled past capacity with those who are going from bad to worse in a way of life that has them both deceived and thus practicing the same before all others who’ve themselves eyes that apparently can’t see anything in life of any worth whatever other than only themselves as pretty much their only treasure. In truth I think it fair to say that all of humanity and the society it’s made is made up of what are roughly 8.3 billion individual worlds each outfitted with a population of one who’s then the only one there who matters.

It’s honestly as if folks have become convinced that if they weren’t here, the world would just cease to be too.

That’s how much we’ve not only lost but still stand to lose. Still need to lose in all honesty. We need to lose this idea that this world is our prize, our place, our stage from which and for which we were made into these maniacal monstrosities of a most monstrous incivility as is seen inside the shows we show not showing much of any truth, reality, or in all actuality, even life to be seen.

Rather all we seem to delight to be are but puppets on strings oddly enough held by only ourselves and yet somehow still mostly controlled by only those around us. For after all, while we might be the ones who, like those discussed here, do everything for a show because we love the attention that helps us to grow this sense of belonging and thus being loved that we’ve for a while now lived to sow inside the souls that we meet and leave no better for having done so, fact is that we’ve to do whatever pleases or impresses the people if we’re to be found as pleasing and impressing to the people as we are to ourselves and thus believe we deserve to be before the rest of us too.

That’s truly why we do all that we do.

It’s to be seen. It’s to feel good as is felt in only our being praised, applauded, in any possible way lauded, admired, affirmed, confirmed as the kings and queens we think we are of what seem to us, from where we stand, castles made of a culture that’s so easy to please that you’d have to be a complete idiot to fail or elsewise find any reason to walk away from what we see millions, billions racing toward.

Indeed, down here there’s apparently nothing better than fame, fortune, fun, friends, fellowship with those who in all likelihood think you’re a fool but would never say as much to your face because they too are only afraid of losing what’s a life that’s become a numbers game as is only won in fans and followers who literally earn us dollars from either ticket sales bought for the shows we sell to seats we pray are filled or in some arbitrary number of those who live only to notice all we post on some highlight reel of a what’s a life that’s not real but again only shared for the show.

It’s all we know.

And that’s because such is the path we wake up to go along every single day anymore. It’s all about how we look, how we feel, how we can make others feel so that they’ll continue cheering on all we say and do which is then done only to please their itching ears, or, again, mostly only ours. Honestly, have you ever stopped to realize all the lies you tell yourself in a given day? Ever stop and wonder as to whether or not you actually believe all the nonsense you say?

Ever stop to worry about whether or not God’s really up there watching and, if so, He might not be quite so pleased with what you’ve become as you’ve so clearly come to be?

We are each so amazingly impressed with ourselves, and still somehow increasingly so, that anymore the only hope we know is that someone else will come along and notice how surpassingly awesome we are so that they too can join the ranks of those who like our posts and share our tweets and repost our lives for all the world to see so that they too can join up and follow along in what we hope becomes a line of those trailing into the distance only behind us as we become the ones the rest trust to lead the way to their becoming what we’ve become convinced we are.

Which is perfect.

Yes, we are each seemingly pretty sure that we’ve got it both all figured out and thus going on. We are the proverbial all that and, yeah, toss in that bag of chips. We are the kitchen sink, the booze we drink, the thoughts we think, the lives that stink at living a life that’s worth living as its only fear is our own dying because that, to us, just seems a heartbreaking disservice unto those who we’ve alone trusted unto our care alone for us alone.

Not sure how that’s supposed to help anyone, but I guess that if we’re as good, great, grand as we’ve long since thought we were, well then yeah, our putting ourselves first will probably prove to provide some kind of trickle-down effect in which those around us are indeed blessed by our being here.

Yeah, God’s gifts to the world as are thus those best to be viewed only from stages or pulpits or pedestals or performances put on in what we live as if some museum we made by ourselves of ourselves and our every amazing awesomeness.

That’s all this is.

It’s a show. It’s story hour. It’s a book we’ve alone written by ourselves that tells all about how impressive we are so that everyone else doesn’t even have to look, watch or listen. They can just glean the facts we give them and then they’ll see that all they need is to be like us. I mean, just look at us! Look at what we’ve each become. Look at how wealthy and healthy and filled with hope we are! Take a gander at our every grandeur and you’ll see the very epitome of all human potential, ability, possibility and opportunity.

We are it!

Or at the very least full of it.

It again being only ourselves.

Yes, we’re full of ourselves living these lives in which all that apparently ever comes to mind is us and how we look, how we feel, how we make others feel and how we might do better in that regard so that they’ve an even higher regard for us than we’re pretty sure they all already do. Again, that’s why we do all that we do. It’s to show the world as a whole that we’re the ones who’ve figured it out, who’ve got it down, who are literally the very pinnacle of all human purpose.

As if pride is a purpose.

We sure live like it is. We live as if such vanity is the very lifeblood of all humanity. As if being impressed with ourselves is the grandest goal to chase, finish line to cross, life to live until said life is lost. Don’t we understand that any moment, minute or momentum given unto only honoring or glorifying ourselves is one which can only produce that fruit that Scripture explicitly warns is death itself?

Galatians 6:8 opens by saying that “whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction.” KJV calls it “corruption”. NLT goes with “decay and death”.

Why?

Because we’re told elsewhere that “the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.” A fact which clearly then proves that “they are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”

Why?

Because the flesh desires to honor, to please, to all but praise itself as its self is all that matters to itself whereas the Spirit seeks said glory and honor and praise for only the Father from whom all life comes and thus to whom all the same will return. The Spirit then seeking to make that meeting go far smoother than it will for those who reach that day never having learned to say that Christ is King to the tune of we are not.

Yes, this place is filled those who’ve never known to bow in such reverent submission unto anything or anyone other than ourselves alone.

A fact which has set up a truly solemn and utterly scary literal come to Jesus meeting!

Indeed, we’re all scheduled for the ultimate comeuppance in which He will be left with no choice but to earn His glory via the vengeance we’ve all but insisted He resort to as we’re still not through with being pleased with ourselves. No, we are instead still living that way of life that insists He give us a sign, prove Himself, come down from that cross and save Himself.

Friends, He will.

He will indeed save Himself from having to spend eternity with those who never once had any desire to live as if He is both Son and Father. He will save Himself from having to be around those who never lived to know any other god but themselves. He will save Himself from having to listen to any more of this forsaken praise we sing unto only those looking back at us in the mirror.

He will save Himself, and in doing so, He will give us a sign that nothing we say or do or think we’ve done or long since stand assured we’ve surely become can save us from.

Because that stone only rolls two ways and He’s done rolled it once.

And He’s promised to only come back once more.

And thus when He does that stone will be rolled back into its place and there seal the rest of days for all no matter where they chose to stand, either outside looking in or inside chasing Him.

What’s it to be?

We gonna choose to continue to be those standing on the outside of His light’s shine not able to see it because we’re still amazed by the brightness of our own? Are we gonna be found amongst the many who live out their lives here seeking every form or worldly plenty they can hope to have before they have nothing at all? Are we going to truly put all of our eggs into this basket that is ourselves?

Friends, what can we honestly actually do for ourselves?

There are literally people who don’t even know how to cook because they’ve given all that time to improving their look for the camera.

We’ve become what are but products of a selfishness, an arrogance, a blatant defiance that now runs so deep inside us that we’ve again no depth. All we do, all we say, friends, all we are is only on the surface. It’s all for show because all we know is that all that matters is all we see. That’s honestly what it seems we all believe! That seeing is in fact believing and that, in light of that, we believe that all of life is a matter best meant to be seen.

And thus never believed!

And so we buy all these special robes and wear all of this make believe and write and then rehearse all these lines and movements that we think will garner the praise and applause we crave inside those moments in which we’re finally in the spotlight and have there only a duty to show the whole world a perfect life as is anymore only measured by only those who know not what life is for.

Because it sure ain’t about us.

And that because it’s not something we gave ourselves. It doesn’t work like that. God is still the only One who exists outside of time, matter, measure and other such substance. He is the uncreated One. The Beginning and the End. The Alpha and Omega. The One who was before all that is came to be all that it won’t be when everything that’s here isn’t.

And yet we live as if we can determine everything from both who we are to why it matters as much as we want it to?

Friends, we’re going to lose. Yes this life, but if we keep living it like this, far more than that!

Why?

Because again, this life isn’t this beauty pageant we’ve made it out to be. It’s not meant for our to be whatever this is that we’ve all become that’s become so in love with itself that all we care to even care about is ourselves. This life is not our reward.

It’s our reckoning.

It’s our “action or process of calculating or estimating something.”

The something in this case being the purpose of life and promise thereof. Both of which cannot exist without God being God. Without Him there is no us, there is no here, there is no life and no promise then of it lasting with Him. There’s nothing.

Don’t we see the problem then?

It’s one proven in that our process of this action of calculating and estimating what life means and what that means has only found us giving meaning to all that doesn’t matter because we’re not God and He’s not us and we’re in this mess because we all forgot this!

We’ve set aside our awareness, acknowledgement, appreciation even of He who is our Maker as we’ve instead sought to make for a different way of life in which all such awareness and appreciation and acknowledgement are ours alone. But again my friends, what can we do for ourselves? Can we save ourselves?

How could we save ourselves when we’re still so lost trying to write this story of our own glory that only sells because we’re surrounded by so many others seeking for secrets to their finding of their own too?

In truth, we have no glory. In fact, without Him we have no story.

And that’s the problem because for all our lives all of us have lived as if our story is about us only.

It isn’t.

It could not matter less how we look to those who look at sin and don’t mind what they see. It couldn’t matter less how we feel as a people who can do so much so wrong and feel nothing. It simply cannot matter whatsoever what anyone here thinks of us, ourselves included, as we’re not any of us the ones who wrote the very Book on life nor then filled it with all the words needed unto the benefit of one being lived for what does matter most.

We’re just the ones who chose to forget what matters most as we instead live as if all that matters is us alone.

Again, it isn’t.

Because despite our shows as seen from stages and social media algorithms, Heaven isn’t the home of those who looked the part or said all the right words or managed to figure out a way to have their rewards both here and there as are rewards themselves as opposed as the Spirit is unto the flesh. No, Heaven is rather the promise given unto those rare few who do lose their belief that they matter, that they’re good enough, that He’s to be pleased with our thinking that we’re so amazing that we deserve that destination.

Heaven is the hope of those who have no other, especially in themselves.

For He’s proven once that His Temple is not meant to be the place in which people who’re but thieves and robbers gather to sell all the junk that everyone else is willing to buy in their belief that they can come into His presence so ill-equipped and unprepared as to be found there before Him without a sacrifice they’re indefinably excited to surrender.

What makes us think that Heaven’s to be any different?

Friends, point is that we’ve all been impressed with ourselves for so long now that we may honestly think that He will be too. But the problem is that He sees all of us through what Jesus did for us. And while that can be a matter immeasurably good should He see some measure of Christ’s humility in us should we have done as we’re all called to do and put off the old in exchange for His new, it can also be a bad thing should He still see the stains of sin that we’ve thus not let Him wash off of us.

Either way we’re all headed unto that day in which we’re promised to be paid in full for all we did for “God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’”

Let us not then forget that all who sow unto the pleasure or importance of the flesh will from the same reap the destruction thereof.

May not feel like it now, likely still feels quite good in fact. But friends, He’s known for turning everything upside down even to the point of death in Him being life forevermore. So be careful how you’re living now as you just might find the exact opposite when that Day comes and we all find out where we go from here.

A day in which we’ll never again have the chance to have second thoughts.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold