Ash Wednesday

Mute

Solemn,

knowing the time,

face like flint

set hard

this hard time.

Jerusalem !

mark this time,

this man

Jesus !

After Him

we mark this time,

face this time

solemnly

O man,

that

thou

art

dust.

The Sin of Superficiality

There's some guilt in hating superficiality. Sometimes people can feel, and say, it's an attitude of intellectual elitism: of "thinking you're smarter than everyone else." In American society; where "all men are created equal," and the voice of the people - not of a self-appointed elite - is the voice of God; that's meant to sting, and does.

One thing I love about (some) country music is that its songs can (sometimes) very much be the "voice of the people." Maybe that's true here. One country song I remember had the refrain, "don't get above your raising." An older country song which I liked very much, and still sing, exactly captured the spirit of anti-elitism: "you ain't no better than me."

There can be self-vaunting pride in hating superficiality, and resentment towards those who do. But that's the human side of it. For a mind renewed in Christ, He is the absolute measure of all things, "the Truth." The real problem with superficiality, the real reason to regard it as a spiritual evil, is that it gives us a false "truth."

It seems to work this way. As "desperately wicked" as the heart of man is, few of us desire to feed on rotten fruit. But that's all satan (and his human co-workers) can offer. To get us to take his lies into our hearts, the enemy has to present them as good. He has to make rotten fruit appear desirable.

But that's simple marketing: manipulate the buyer's perception of your product. And any dishonest grocer knows how to sell rotten fruit: with a few beautiful, ripe apples on top, people will buy a bushel of moldy, worm-eaten ones hidden beneath. Superficial buyers are easily deceived.

It's how the "conservative" agenda has been sold to American Christians. A few biblical truths to catch the eye: homosexuality is sin, abortion is murder: and shallow love of Truth will buy it. And along with it, a bushel of lies and spiritual corruption: that militarism, pride, contempt for the poor, factionalism, murderous hatred, and nationalism are good.

Jesus made it explicit: "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart." (Luke 6:45) What fills our heart is what we allow into it: so Solomon warned to "zealously guard your heart, for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). We have a moral responsibility to examine everything we allow into our operative thinking, our heart, our being.

Superficiality has nothing of zeal; it doesn't guard, it deceives. Satisfied with appearances, superficiality manifests shallow love of Truth. Superficiality is sin.