CLEAN THE CUP

Have you ever invited someone over without enough time to organize and properly put things in place?

I have.

Moments like these leave me frantic, scrambling to quickly toss everything in my room and close the door behind me.

By all means, PLEASE do not open the door lol.

As long as the exteriors and the major rooms that everyone frequents are clean and organized, they certainly will not notice the mess behind the door.

This idea of pristine exteriors, but unclean interiors is all too relatable.

I’ve always considered myself to be a Christian.

For years, I believed I was living a life that God was pleased with.

It wasn’t until the year 2020 when I began to truly notice just how stagnant I was in my faith.

I made a bold request:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24 NIV

The search yielded results and showed me what was tucked away inside of me:

• Unforgiveness

• Anger

• Extreme Sadness

• Gluttony

• Fear

• Pride

• Envy

• Lust

• Laziness

I had been so fixated on the qualities of me that people could see, failing to acknowledge the clutter behind the closed door.

My exterior was tip top, and in my eyes, I was a great Christian young woman living her life for God. For years, I had unknowingly placed the parts of me that people could see to a higher regard.

To appear to be a certain way is easy, but actually being takes work.

As believers, God wants us to clean our cups:

“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 and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” Matthew 23:25-26 NIV

We tend to live our faith backwards, thinking that if our outside is clean, so is our inside. But God call us to be clean from the inside out.

It’s precisely why you meet people who are undoubtedly a light. They exude love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

They bear good fruit.

I am still cleaning my cup.

It will never be perfectly pristine, but it can be clean.

Clean the cup.