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I’m examining 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, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
Can you imagine how those Scribes and Pharisees felt, being accused of robbery and self-indulgence? 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 did the right thing at the right time and followed all the traditions. They were the ultimate in political correctness! And Jesus shows them that all that exterior stuff is no good if on the inside they are harboring bad attitudes and motives.
We all are guilty at times of cleaning up the outside of our cups and allowing things to remain on the inside that need to come out. And Jesus made the point very clear: it’s what is on the inside of the cups that matters to him.
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 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 your cup that needs to be cleaned out.
Check it out today. When your cup runs over, what spills out?