FORM VERSUS SUBSTANCE

One of the scourges of our time is what I call form versus substance. 

This audio has been around for years & illustrates it perfectly. Someone who appears reasonably intelligent & educated calls the local radio station. But we split a gut when it becomes obvious that she doesn't have a clue.

What I mean is that people look at appearances & make assumptions from those appearances rather than looking at the reality that is behind the appearance.

It's easy to be fooled in that way if we allow ourselves to be. It's also easy to give in to the temptation to be fooled, accepting the image uncritically & at face value even if we sense that there's more behind the image.

A lot of spiritual problems go back to this. A lot of the moral dilemmas we face also go back to this. And a lot of the political challenges we have as a nation go back to a failure to understand the difference between form & substance, appearance & reality.

I challenge you today - look beyond the visible, please! 

1 Samuel 16:7 says that God sees the heart not just the image. As His people we must understand more than just what appears to the eye. We need to look beyond appearances & see reality.