A New Devotion - Inside Out

Here's a new devotion that I wrote. You can find a recording of this devotion at the bottom of the page.

Matthew 5:21-26

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”


Inside Out

A few years ago, Pixar released a movie called “Inside Out.” It looked at the internal struggle between five emotions within a mind of a preener. And since what was going on inside the mind of the girl resulted in outward behavior, her words and actions were distorted when her feelings were out of balance. Now that was the premise of the movie.

And this relationship between what’s happening on the inside and what’s done on the outside lies behind this lesson that Jesus offered his disciple in the Sermon on the Mount. As a matter of fact, he took it a step beyond what was presented in the movie. You see, in essence, he said that what we say and do really doesn’t mean much if what we’re thinking and feeling isn’t right. And that’s especially true with respect to the religious stuff we do. I mean, it doesn’t matter how much money we put in the plate if, on the inside, we’re still greedy and self-centered. And it doesn’t matter how much we talk about the love and grace of God if, on the inside, we’re carrying around anger and resentment. And it really doesn’t matter how much we claim to follow Jesus Christ if, on the inside, we don’t take seriously his called to care for the most vulnerable of his children. And so rather than doing all the external stuff, it’s a much better idea to get the internal right first. In other words, when it comes of our relationship with God we should never try to fake the inside regardless of what we think we’re showing on the outside.