The Appearance of Things
“…them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.” (2 Corinthians 5:12)
Is it better to look as if you are alive, or is it better to actually be alive? Is it better to look as if you are intelligent, or is it better to be intelligent? Is it better to give the appearance of a modest person, or is it better to actually be a modest person? Is it better to give the impression of a submissive wife, or is it better to actually have the inward victory that will enable you to live up to Sarah’s testimony to Abraham as recorded in 1 Peter 3:5-6? Is it better to give the outward impression that you dwell with your wife according to knowledge, or is it better for her and yourself to know that you love her equally as you love your own body? (Ephesians 5:28). To just look like you have the victory, or to actually have it, no matter how it appears?
We greatly fear that a good part of nominal Christianity is more the teaching of how to impersonate a Christian than insisting upon the actual possession of a triumphant, victorious experience in God. A religious experience toward men, instead of toward God. An emphasis upon the outward influencing of men (the art of the politician), rather than upon simply being genuinely spiritual, whether people accurately esteem you as a spiritual person, or not. We are surrounded by “Christians” that know how to talk the talk and how to imitate to a certain extent the walk, but upon closer examination, it is mostly, if not entirely, just a name to live while dead. This reflects the sad, unbelieving attitude of a certain skeptic: “Christianity is a wonderful idea—though it’s never been tried.” Perhaps this sad individual had never seen a genuine representative of pure religion and undefiled. Perhaps he had never seen anything but the pretended. He was certainly wrong in saying that Christianity has never been tried. It has been thoroughly tried and proven. It’s strongest testimonies come from its enemies. But we are sadly aware that the vast majority of Christian professions only bear out the skeptic’s conclusion. If there were nothing more to Christianity than what is commonly seen in the professors around us, then it would be worthless indeed, worthy only of scorn and ridicule.
The Bible tells us, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) Note the words, “so shine.” Not just shine, but so shine. Shine in a certain way that leads to authentic confidence, founded upon reality in such a way that men might glorify God. Not like the Pharisees, ““for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.” (Matthew 6:5) “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.” (Matthew 6:1) “But all their works they do for to be seen of men.” (Matthew 23:5) All of this was and is done in the name of influencing men for God, but what actually happens (when the influence actually works) is that it influences men for men. Many men are swayed by men—powerfully, thoroughly, but it has not the effect of glorifying the Father which is in heaven. The people in Samaria, from the greatest to the least, all thought that Simon was some great one and that he manifested the power of God (Acts 8:9-11), but the truth of the matter was that his heart was not right with God.
“The Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
It is the way of man to look on the outward appearance and to be impressed. Samuel, a true prophet of God, looked at Eliab… and he looked like a king. We are told of Samuel’s thoughts: “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” (2 Samuel 16:6) You could not tell by looking. The outward appearance was not a good indicator of what the heart would do. It is a fact that people in themselves do not accurately evaluate God’s true little children. How could they? Consequently we read, “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.” (1 Corinthians 4:9-13) The more we read in the New Testament of what God puts His children through, the more we realize that a child of God can only so shine by simply committing the whole thing into God’s hands. “I think that God hath set forth…” Here is the secret of the whole thing: be genuine without worrying about how you shine, and God will bring out the truth of what is there. He will appoint the trials and tests that bring to the view of all what is really there. A few will acknowledge it, but many will not. Most do not acknowledge it because it deals with them too closely. Some will not acknowledge it because their zeal for outward appearance devalues the need to be and exalts the need to appear. Such are those who “glory in appearance, and not in heart.”
Here is the key to how emotional, how physically demonstrative, a child of God should be: Bodily exercise profits very little, but godliness is profitable unto all things (1 Timothy 4:8). The brethren had a saying that captures the thought very well. “Jump as high as you like, but be certain you walk straight when you come down.” It is not wrong to be outwardly emotional or physically demonstrative, but the emphasis must be on what is behind all that outward stuff. This is to glory in heart.
If I glory in heart, I do not rejoice at the appearance of modestly-dressed people—I rejoice at the hidden heart modesty of the born again. Instead of glorying in the length of the skirt, the thoroughness of physical coverage, the appropriateness of fit, etc., I rejoice in the inward consideration of the saved for all men, including each other. For modesty is nothing more or less than a sober appraisal of the sexual attraction between human beings with a desire to be considerate and appropriate toward all. A woman should dress and act as a woman in a way that elevates and inspires a man toward appreciation of pure womanhood, and a man should dress and act as a man in a way that elevates and inspires a woman toward appreciation of pure manhood. Instead of rejoicing in just looking like modesty, I have the privilege of rejoicing in actual modesty from the heart. And if it is really there in the heart, it will manifest itself in the outward appearance.
There are people who dress outwardly in a way that clashes horribly with their inner condition of heart. It goes both ways. Some are dressing modestly who have little modesty inside, and there are a few who have found an inward modesty, but who have not yet borne the fruit that proceeds from the heart. There are wives that wear their hair long and even put an additional covering on their head, but their heart is not submissive to their husband. They have such faith in the outward appearance! As if the outward would lead the inward to victory. But the Bible tells us, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) If you watch those who glory in appearance, you would think that this scripture should read, “Keep thy outward appearance with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life,” but this is false. “Keep thy heart… out of it are the issues of life.”
You have taken a long step toward holy living when you have learned to do much and say little. Holiness is seen in what you do and not in what you say.
A man may discourse very beautifully about God and pray in public with great fervor and enthusiasm, but if he is negligent of secret prayer his religion is toward men and not toward God.
[Charles E. Orr; Helps to Holy Living, “More Holy Thoughts for Quiet Hours”]