Whitewash

December 16, 2007

Ezekiel 22:28 GNB
(28) The prophets have hidden these sins like workers covering a wall with whitewash. They see false visions and make false predictions. They claim to speak the word of the Sovereign LORD, but I, the LORD, have not spoken to them.

Arts and crafts with kids can be fun. Kids in a group setting always try to outdo the other, mostly in speed. Haste means usually something gets ripped. It can usually be fixed with a little scotch tape, maybe a glue stick, and a lot of love for the child.

When I bought my house seven years ago, the old owner had just painted it inside. I found out why later. Many places in the house later showed signs of cracking. He had used the paint to hide the imperfections in the house. In the days of the Bible, this would be similar to a thing called white wash. You would use white wash to make something look clean, but with the first good rain it wore off. Then, like my house, the old problem you tried to cover would still be there.

Fixing the mistakes of children is one thing. As noted, glue and tape can fix things well. Fixing the mistakes of adults is another. When we have trouble getting along with others we try to seek out blame them and say it is not my fault. By doing that, we use whitewash. We may feel good about ourselves, but it will wear off with the next storm in your life. What is worse, like today's scripture, you may have people telling you that what you are doing is Godly when in reality it is not.

If you have trouble in a relationship, the time is now to get the glue that will hold you together. Get in the Word, get wise councilors who know the Word. Do not try to whitewash it, the junk is still there and it will only look nice for a while.