“Be good.”
I say it all the time.
What I mean is do what I say or what’s expected of you.
I don’t always care if you want to obey as long as you do it or if you mean what you say so long as you say it.
I’m just being honest here.
I’m in the trenches of teaching you to do what’s right, of training you how to treat others. I tend to take what I can get.
Still, I do not want you to be confused.
Being “good” is not the same as being holy.
Being “good” is often about outward behavior, regardless of what motivates it. Being holy is all about the inside.
And, according to Christ, it’s the inside that counts.
Being holy is not as much about your appearance as about your attitudes.
Remember what he said about being whitewashed?
It doesn’t matter how good we look on the outside if the inside is ugly.
Our “sweet” words don’t matter if they hide sour thoughts.
Because he sees the inside.
He hears the things we don’t say.
He knows the motives that move us.
Keeping that in mind makes a big difference.
It changes our standards, helping us draw lines where he would put them rather than where other people place them.
It changes our perspective and reminds us who to please.
It sets us free from worrying over rules to rely on our relationship.
Because it’s our relationship with Him that makes us holy.
“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord Looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
How do you teach your kids that it’s the inner attitude that matters most? How do you check your own attitudes, too? Leave a comment and let me know. I’d love to hear from you!