My wife and I have been in the midst of a bathroom remodel lately. It is always interesting how much more difficult a project becomes once you actually get into it. Earlier this week we replaced our vanity and hooked up all of the plumbing. At first everything looked great until a couple of hours later my wife noticed water coming through our basement ceiling...again! That's right, this is not the first time we have had water coming through the wonderful barrier hanging above our heads. In fact this is probably the third or fourth time we have had a plumbing issue.
Well, after about an hour and a half, 4 holes cut into the walls on 3 different floors, and two of those holes expanded, the problem was finally found. As it turns out, the people who had originally patched up the plumbing in this house did a poor job. Their job not only resulted in our current problems, but it very possible could have caused severe problems in the future. In fact, it was so bad that once our plumber started to repair it, the pipe pulled clean out! Thankfully, the damage done by the leak ended up being minimal.
When our plumber finally left about 12:30 that night (about 5 hours later), I laid in bed and could not help but think about the ordeal we just endured and some spiritual applications. Too often people focus only on the outside. We want to have a beautifully designed house and rooms. We want to have the newest and shiniest cars, computers, etc. We want to look perfect on the outside (physically, spiritually, etc). We want to appear like have no struggles or problems. But when we think about it, what point is there to having a great house if a plumbing issue in the walls can destroy it all? What point is there to having an incredible looking car if the engine is about to blow up? What point is there to having the best computer if it is about to give out and cause you to lose all your work?
There is no point in having something or someone looking great on the outside if there is potential disaster on the inside. Quality on the outside is not necessarily an indicator of quality on the inside. In Matthew 23:25-27 says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness."
Beauty on the outside can so easily be destroyed by problems on the inside. Let's remember that beauty on the inside is so much more important than beauty on the outside.
Well, after about an hour and a half, 4 holes cut into the walls on 3 different floors, and two of those holes expanded, the problem was finally found. As it turns out, the people who had originally patched up the plumbing in this house did a poor job. Their job not only resulted in our current problems, but it very possible could have caused severe problems in the future. In fact, it was so bad that once our plumber started to repair it, the pipe pulled clean out! Thankfully, the damage done by the leak ended up being minimal.
When our plumber finally left about 12:30 that night (about 5 hours later), I laid in bed and could not help but think about the ordeal we just endured and some spiritual applications. Too often people focus only on the outside. We want to have a beautifully designed house and rooms. We want to have the newest and shiniest cars, computers, etc. We want to look perfect on the outside (physically, spiritually, etc). We want to appear like have no struggles or problems. But when we think about it, what point is there to having a great house if a plumbing issue in the walls can destroy it all? What point is there to having an incredible looking car if the engine is about to blow up? What point is there to having the best computer if it is about to give out and cause you to lose all your work?
There is no point in having something or someone looking great on the outside if there is potential disaster on the inside. Quality on the outside is not necessarily an indicator of quality on the inside. In Matthew 23:25-27 says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness."
Beauty on the outside can so easily be destroyed by problems on the inside. Let's remember that beauty on the inside is so much more important than beauty on the outside.
Brett Petrillo
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