The Beauty, and Problem, of Paint

Have you ever stopped to think about just how much difference a new coat of paint can make. It can practically transform a room making it appear larger or smaller, more inviting or more imposing. Regardless of the effect it creates, it definitely makes things look cleaner and more presentable. Take the old house by the side of the road. It used to be white. That much is evidenced by the peeling flecks of paint that remain behind telling the story of time. The elements have battered and scarred the house causing the paint to peel. The paint protected the wood it covered and without this protection, the wood has begun to slowly rot. The years of neglect show by the ugly, rotten condition of the house. The house is an eyesore, and a safety hazard, that needs to be ripped down and rebuilt from the foundation.

One day, someone buys the property. Inwardly, you hope he will tear down the house. It is so rotten that it could not possibly be safe. Instead, he buys paint and spends the next week painting the entire house. He sticks with white paint and the cosmetic work really brings the house alive. It shines for the world to see. It looks brand new.

At first, you think it's pretty impressive what a good coat of paint can do to bring out the beauty in something. Then you realize the paint did not really bring out any beauty. It merely covered up the truth. Underneath the cosmetic makeover, it is still the same old rotten, broken down, dangerous old house. True, it looks good, but at the same time it poses a great threat to any who come around. In fact, one could even say the house is more dangerous now than it was before the paint job. Before the paint, others could readily see the danger brought about by years of neglect.

Christians face this same problem in their lives. It is the problem of outer change without the accompanying inward change. It is the problem born from working to look good in front of others without the necessary renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2) that brings about the true metamorphosis in our lives. Change that does not begin from the inside is not change at all. It is just a new coat of paint on the same old pile of junk. Jesus charged the Pharisees, "For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness" (Matt. 23:27). The paint refreshes the outward man. The gospel renews the inner man. Have you been renewed?