Linus and the Half-Shined Shoes

 

Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Matthew 23:26

Oddly enough, Jesus didn't have a very good relationship with the Pharisees of his day, even though they were well-known for being experts in the law and very particular about following every little detail.

This verse is in the middle of seven "woe to you" statements by Jesus against the Pharisees and it reminds me of a set of panels from the Charles Schulz comic strip, Peanuts:

Jesus used the metaphor of a half-cleaned cup to emphasize that it's not a person's public persona or image that matters, but the content of their character. If the whole shoe doesn't shine, what's the point?

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Truth Is...It's not about keeping up appearances as much as it's allowing Jesus to raise up within us a factory of faithfulness.