Daily PresenceSample

The shelves of my home are filled with all sorts of potted plants and photo frames. I’ve spent years slowly collecting these items and hours placing them in a way that appeals to my visual sensibilities. I have a few tricks I typically follow to achieve an “unforced” or “natural” look. I’ll adjust a photo frame a few inches to the left, shift the angle slightly to the right, or twist a chipped pot around until I finally settle on a pleasing layout. I know, I seem a bit neurotic, but keep following me.

We have a tendency to want things to “appear” beautiful in our lives. Whether on our shelves or in our core beliefs. I don’t think this is inherently bad, but I think it can be dangerous when we begin to value what “looks nice” over what is “true.” We often take the truth and with a simple “twist” or slight “adjustment,” find ourselves manipulated into accepting a lie in its place. In fact, those lies built from “twisting” the truth are often the most difficult to spot. They seem “good” from one angle but if you peer behind the guise, you may find sorrow and grief.

Our culture is a key culprit. In an effort to appear “nice” and “pretty,” we hide the truth behind filters, manipulate it to fit our own opinions, and trade it for what we read in social media posts. Isaiah 5:20-21 says “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.”

This verse makes it seem easy, but sometimes discerning between light and dark can be much more difficult. When we’re being bombarded with twisted ideas and manipulations from the sources around us, good and evil can become easily confused. The only truth we can tangibly hold onto is the Word of God. It is the foundation of truth and our only hope in distinguishing what is dark and what is light. If it is the truth we’re after, the only place to find it is in God’s word.