But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23a

One for the Catalog?

          Leviticus is just no fun.  It's kind of a dreary read for a gray, late winter day.  I mean, all those "do nots" and explicit descriptions of skin disease and mildew and sin.  Ick!  At this time of year I'd rather be looking at one of my colorful seed or fruit tree catalogs.  I admit that I wouldn't be reading Leviticus at all if it weren't for my commitment to the One-Year Bible reading plan.  I do read it because it's part of the Bible, but I sort of read it the way I carry one of my grandchildren's dirty diapers to the trash, with one eye closed and my head turn slightly away.  With all that turning away it's no surprise that this morning, when I read:

Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves.  I am the Lord your God.  Leviticus 19:3

what I saw first, and incorrectly, was the word "mental" instead of the word "metal."    It was a mistake that got me thinking.

            In the days Levitical Law was being recorded, worshiping gods made of metal was a common problem.  It's not really something we're likely to be tempted to do in modern-day America.  Whew!  Glad we've made advancements since then.

            But before we congratulate ourselves overmuch for being better than the ancient Israelites, let's recognize that we, too, have false gods, many of them represented by the mental  images we carry in our heads: false images of what it means to be beautiful, or wrong desires for wealth or status, idealized views about relationships, and so on and so on. . . .  In many ways, while worshiping these hidden-in-our-heads idols may seem less overtly sinful, less harmful than worshiping a god of metal sitting on a shelf, it is not.  In fact, it's much more dangerous.

            Whatever we spend the most time thinking about is who we really are, and what we are destined to become.  Our hidden thoughts won't stay hidden forever. 

A tree is identified by its fruit.  If a tree is good, its fruit will be good.  If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. . . . A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. (Matthew 12: 33 & 35)

            A bad tree's fruit may appear to be okay from a distance, but close inspection will reveal the truth:  any sort of light, water, or mineral deficiency, blight or an infestation of codling moths.  Just as bad fruit trees can't fake good fruit, so people can't fake goodness from "the treasury of an evil heart."  Whatever is in our hearts and heads will produce fruit.  And its quality will be apparent to all.  So what's in the "tree" of your head?  If a picture were to be taken today of that fruit, would it be one for the catalogs?

Daye Phillippo

March 2014