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How long does it take the average teenage girl to actually get ready to go out? Each girl is different and has different things she wants just right before she leaves the house, but the thing that they have in common is that they will check to make sure that no hair is out of place, no facial blemish not concealed, and no wrinkle not ironed out.
As men, we love our wives for this attention to themselves. But for all the time that we may take as individuals to make sure our outward appearance is just right, how much time do we take to make sure that our inside is as attractive as the outside?
It was recently determined through a study that during fertility women will dress to impress almost subconsciously. Whether the usual dress is a gym suit or a business suit, a woman will accessorize her outfit more when she’s fertile than at other times of the month. In a way, her inner person is displaying on the outside what is going on inside.
The same is true of all of us– we tend to show on the outside what’s going on inside our minds. However, as time passes people are becoming more adept at hiding what’s going on inside our minds in the name of making sure that the outside looks as good as possible. I see this happening particularly in our churches.
Nowhere should the Christian feel more safe to talk about the things that they are struggling with, to ask for prayer, and to receive encouragement than from the church. The local body is there to help us all in our progress toward being more like Christ.
All too often, though, I believe that we put up blockades against being transparent and open because we are afraid of what people might think if they saw us for who we truly are. We hide that sin we are fighting with. We put on that happy face and talk about the praises that we have for God and thank Him for the great things that happened in that week (if we do this at all), but we leave unmentioned those things that we struggle with.
How are you on the outside? Are you transparent with God? with your Spouse? with your church? Does the inside reflect the outside, or is there are a lot of makeup to hide the blemishes?
