Appearances Sometimes Lie
On my way to CO at 27 for a job lead, God provided a job outside Taos, caretaking an unused guest ranch at 8500 ft., a log cabin to live in and some nice pay. Far beyond my wildest mountain man dreams. But…
Needing firewood for the soon coming winter
and at 8500 feet in the Sangre De Cristos
an ample supply is needed
my September arrival at the ranch left little time to cut
and none to season the wood
so this previous flatlander spotted a dead aspen
stretching up 75 feet
three feet across at the base
sufficient and ready for winter warmth
Grabbing an axe—Paul Bunyan style
the cuts began—coiling and striking as chips flew
the tree finally fell within two feet of the plan
a small nearby stream supplied cold water
to quench my thirst and rinse off sweat
satisfaction of supplying wood myself
soothed my soul
A chainsaw to cut the trunk into 18-inch rounds
one round, then two, then the punky interior rot was revealed
merely four inches of good wood on the exterior
merely kindling for the winter
And so the search went on
The aspen appeared solid, until it wasn’t. I’ve trusted people who appeared trustworthy, until they weren’t. Friends, ministry partners, and more. I’ve paid a price, relationally and financially. I suspect we all have. Appearances work. Tall people tend to get better jobs. The fit. The attractive. Often, the outward appearance doesn’t match the inward character, but the outward keeps us from probing deeper.
So how do we protect ourselves from inaccurate appearances? First, let’s look below the surface and not trust in appearances, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). We tend to focus on a person looks, but be wary. The two don’t always match.
Instead, let’s take the time to look inside, like God does. We can’t see fully, but we can search for indications of their character, the depth of their walk, how trustworthy they’ve been in the past. And we try not to assume, especially when the evidence is scanty.
But we need to examine ourselves as well. Do we rely on impressing people with how we look, how we come off, or with our character, talents, and achievements? Relying on our appearance can be dishonest—it hides our real selves. So maybe we can spend more time on our inward us than our outward one.
And if we do, we may avoid some of the embarrassment I brought on myself.
Kick Starting the Application
When is the last time appearances deceived you? Could you have avoided it, maybe by taking more time? What specific things can you do to minimize their happening again? Have you sometimes relied on your appearance when it dishonestly hid other aspects. How does that make you feel? How can you improve?