Beautiful on the Outside?

Those flowers are lovely, aren't they?  This is one of Riley's photography assignments from a few weeks ago.  I'm biased, I know, but I do think it is a beautiful picture of beautiful flowers.  So delicate, so dainty.  Like so many other blooming trees, shrubs and flowers around our house right now.

But pollen is everywhere!

And it's evil!  Ok, maybe not evil, but bad!  Especially for those of us suffering from allergies, which would now be pretty much all.of.us.  The sniffles, sneezing and watering eyes got me thinking...

"How can something so pretty be so bad for so many?"

The reality is that there are many things like that out there in this big world.  Wrap anything up with a nice "ribbon" or a fancy "bow" and it can look attractive.  We just have to open it up.  Advertise something with a fun twist and a pretty face and we all know it needs to be ours.  Tell people how great something is and we all want it too.  Wolves wrapped in sheep's clothing.

Proverbs 14:5 "A truthful witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies."

Oh, friends, we are surrounded by false witnesses. It is easy to be misled.  It is easy to be persuaded.  It is easy to be convinced something or someone is lovely because it is wrapped in a lovely package.  But looks can be deceiving...just like those beautiful, purple flowers.  On the surface things may seem so innocent, so truthful, so harmless, but beware!  Not all that is lovely is good!

Matthew 7:15 "Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

And so I encourage you to look beyond the surface.  Do your research.  Examine your hearts and measure everything against God's word.  The world will deceive you.  The Lord never will!