Chapter 21

It’s interesting that when you look at the Bible in a different version, sometimes stuff crops up that you never noticed before.

Case in point: Proverbs 21 verse 2. A familiar verse, one which I could quote from memory. “A man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.”

Fairly remote and (to me) lacking in application. But check out what the Message says about this:

“We justify our actions by appearances, God examines our motives.”

Yowch. That stings.

I often used to pride myself on not caring about appearances. Yet the fact is that I care greatly about them; I just have an idiosyncratic view of what is actually important in your appearance!

In a sense, you’re reading this because in some respects appearances are important to me. Specifically, I don’t like appearing lazy; and if I miss a day I look lazy. Or at least that’s how I see things.

I might well be able to fool some of you, or even all of you into thinking that this is about being accountable so I can know God better. At some level, that’s what I really want. But my motives in reality are mixed. And the Lord is the only one who can really get into my heart and tease out those motives.

Verse 8 talks more about this issue: “Mixed motives send life into tangles. Pure motives take you straight down the road.”