Tip of My Iceberg

The cold snap continues. Our plants are suffering; they have no capacity for freezing temperatures. I’ve tried covering them to little or no avail–the wind has picked up and blows all the covering cloths around the yard.

People are better able to care for themselves in frigid temperatures. Down the street from us, our daughter and her family did everything they could to bundle up. Ryken and Callum, with their brilliant minds working together, drew pillows by their fake fireplace, wrapped themselves in their blankets, and tried to look cozy.

Granted, the fake fireplace is more for appearances than warmth, even though it produces a modicum of heat that may reach a foot into the room. But they convinced themselves it mattered, so they snuggled up beside it and played as if this was how they operated every day.

There’s something about authenticity that draws people in. Many call it the real McCoy, a phrase most likely originating in the 1870’s when Canadian-American Elijah McCoy invented and patented a superior automatic lubricator for steam engines. Railroad engineers were tired of the cheaper oil that often caused engine breakdowns. They began to demand “the real McCoy”, not settling for anything inferior. No one likes to settle for second best when you know that there is something better and more reliable.

When cold, the boys wished they had the real fire, the one that would burn brightly and warm well. They had to settle for the fake fireplace; frankly, in Florida, there aren’t many days when a real fireplace is needed.

Nobody likes an imposter.

In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders were the ones most likely to be seen as impostors or hypocrites. They held themselves above everyone else because they’d diligently studied the Torah, strictly adhered to the Mosaic law and oral traditions, and emphasized ritual purity. However, they had no true care for the people. They would speak of helping the people better understand their faith, but they’d ignore their need for mercy, grace, and justice. Fake compassion was the mask for their need for favorable optics, so that people would see them as holy and respect them for their authority.

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, ‘The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they TELL you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with the unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.’” Matthew 23:1-4.

It’s a sham to tell people to “do what I say, not what I do.” Truth is foundational to life; all truth is genuinely God’s truth. To embrace what we want to think of as truth, knowing it isn’t enough to sustain life, is a waste of time and energy.

Phoniness always falls flat.

The boys cozied up to a fake fireplace; it really couldn’t offer the heat they wanted, but it did satisfy for the moment with the appearance of warm.

I don’t want to settle for optics. I want the real McCoy.

That’s Jesus.