Cup Checking

One of my favorite things about mornings is my first cup of coffee.  I love smelling the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and just taking a few minutes to embrace the quietness of the morning.  Then again in the evening I often return to the cupboard in search for another cup to enjoy a moment of peace with a hot cup of chamomile tea. Coffee cups.  Whether it’s the way it fits in your hand or the memory attached to it, typically everyone has a favorite.  When you go to reach for your favorite cup and get ready to fill it, do you look inside of it to make sure it’s clean?  You wouldn’t dream of drinking out of a cup that has moldy residue left inside of it.  What if you saw one of God’s little creatures crawling around inside of it?  Would you be as eager to use it then?  I would certainly hope not!  (My germaphobic side is starting to cringe right about now.)  Clean cups.  Jesus used such a simple image to make such a big impact.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.”
~ Matthew 23:25-26 (ESV)

Hypocrisy.  We know it when we see it in others, but are we looking for it in ourselves?  Are we making sure that our own “cups” are clean?  Jesus was angry with the scribes and Pharisees for saying one thing and acting another.  Hmm…. Sounds like a very familiar tune in today’s world.  But surely I’m okay, aren’t I? 

“…For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” ~ I Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

Cup checking.  It’s a thing.  When we think about the state of our heart, we must be honest with ourselves because God already knows what’s in it. 

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!”
~ Psalm 139:23 (ESV)