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PROGRAM D-7183
I’m talking about cups—in particular, your cup. What comes spilling out of your cup when it runs over, when something causes it to be jostled or upset? We learn a great deal about ourselves as we take a look at what comes out of our cups in those stressful moments.
Do you remember what Jesus said to the Scribes and Pharisees about cups? It’s found in Matthew 23:25-26:
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside may be clean also.
Can you imagine how those scribes and Pharisees felt, being accused of robbery and self-indulgence? How that must have shocked and angered them, because they saw themselves as the epitome of uprightness; after all they were meticulous about keeping the law. They were so very careful about outward appearances, and they always made sure they did the right thing at the right time, said the right thing, and followed all the traditions. They were the ultimate in political correctness! And Jesus endeavors to show them that all that exterior stuff is no good if on the inside they are harboring bad attitudes and motives.
We all are guilty of cleaning up the outside of our cups, and allowing really awful things to remain on the inside. And Jesus made the point very clear: it’s what is on the inside of the cups that matters to him.
Have you ever tried to wash the inside of a cup, but leave the outside dirty? It’s practically impossible. But it’s quite easy to clean the outside and leave the inside dirty. Do you get the analogy? If we get our insides clean, the outsides will be clean, too. So, our focus should be to get the inside clean.
While we’re talking about cups, let me take the illustration a step further. If I had a perfectly clean cup filled with fresh milk and offered it to you, you’d have no difficulty accepting it and drinking it. But if I took that same fresh cup of milk and put one small teaspoon of vinegar in it, I doubt you’d be willing to drink it. Though it contained mostly good healthy milk, that one teaspoon of vinegar would ruin the contents of the entire cup.
I hardly have to apply this illustration for you, I’m sure. It doesn’t take very much bitterness to ruin what is in your cup. Or malice, or envy or pride or unkindness or unthankfulness or . . . the list could go on and on. That’s why it is so important to see what is in our cups that need to be cleaned out.