Don't Become Callous

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup dish, and then the outside also will be clean." Matthew 23:25-26

When our children are born we notice their wonderfully smooth skin. There little feet and hands are so soft and smooth. I often think about how I would love to have skin like that. However as we become adults, our skin can become rough and dry. Without proper care we begin to notice callouses on our feet and dry patches on our hands. Our skin becomes unhealthy looking and aged. The drier our skin is and the thicker the callouses the less feeling we have in those areas. It isn't until we file away the roughness and slather our skin with lotion that we begin to see an improvement. We begin to have feeling and notice a healthy glow returning as our skin is being restored to good health. If we would only follow these simple steps daily our skin would stay healthy and soft. But often we become lazy and neglect caring for our skin properly. In our busyness we say "I don't have time, I will do that later."

In the same way, If we neglect our spiritual lives our hearts become dry and callous. As the dryness increases and the callouses grow, we begin to lose feeling. Our hearts become hard and our love for others grows cold. We need to allow God to file away the rough dry places from our hearts and pour His anointing oil on us. He renews our hearts as we seek His will. In this way we can stay softened to the move of the Holy Spirit and live healthy Christian lives.

As women we each have a daily skin care routine and we notice immediately when we have neglected it. But are you caring for your spiritual health as well as you care for your skin and your physical health? Do you have a daily spirit care routine? If not, think about your priorities. Isn't caring for yourself spiritually much more important than the physical? Which one do you think will matter more for eternity?

Love In Christ,
Kim Ratcliffe