What’s under the hood?
I recently bought a car this last week, and at first sight, the car is not the typical car that you would be looking to buy. The car is a red 1990 Honda Prelude. That’s right, 1990… It has been around for awhile, so its definitely not the best looking car on the road. There is a dent on the front driver side of the car, and the tinting that was previously put on the windows is peeling and doesn’t look attractive at all. If I were driving down the road, and someone was driving the car past me, I probably wouldn’t notice it like I notice the BMW or Mercedes when it drives past me. Why is that? Because we are always so caught up in driving the best looking car. We are so concerned with how the car looks on the outside and how sexy or attention getting the car is. The problem is that so many times we are so concerned with how the outside of the car looks, that we don’t take care of and check what is under the hood. I don’t know about you, but the most important part of the car to me is what is under the hood.
If your car has the rims, the nice spoilers, tinted windows, decals etc… but has a rundown, crappy engine… then the car is not a good car. It might look good on the outside, but the inside of the car is crap. The engine, transmission, brakes, the stuff under the hood is what make the car run. Without those essential parts in good condition, the car can not run and would essentially be junk. Every time you go somewhere the emissions and junk that come out of it makes the people driving around you sick.
You see I bought my car because under the hood, the car is in great shape… There is a near new engine and transmission in the car. The brakes work great and it is stick shift so my gas mileage is awesome… Overall the car drives amazing and is in great shape!
If I was only interested in what the car looks like from the outside, I probably wouldn’t have bought it, because its not the sexiest car in the world. But I am beginning to understand the importance of what is under the hood of my car.
This is a great lesson for our lives! Something that I am definitely learning as I get older. So many of us, myself included, are so caught up with how we look on the outside… We have to dress right, our hair has to be perfect, we want to be attractive, we have to put the masks on that make people think we are someone or something that we aren’t… We want to make sure what people think of us is good… we want to look like the BMW or Mercedes, when on the inside we are ugly, rundown and dirty. Our heart is dark. We walk through life with all kinds of junk inside. We are so concerned with looking good on the outside! We have to do whatever we can to look good. But we forget to check under our hood! We don’t examine or inspect our hearts and so on the outside you look like you have it all together, but deep down you’re a mess. Under the hood of your life you have rust and corrosion and sooner then later, the junk of your life will start coming out.
Luke 6:45
For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks.
Less then a month ago, there was a moment where I realized that there was some junk under my hood. In a moment of frustration, I said a phrase that I never say, but it came out. In my moment of frustration, the overflow of my heart came out and the phrase “Jesus Christ” was used not in a worshipful way. I was taken back by what came out of my mouth, because that is not something that I have ever said like that and is not something I desire to ever say again! It was something that really bothered me because it meant that something was wrong inside my heart.
My entire life, I have always been so focused on looking good on the outside! I always want everybody that I am around to approve me and everything that I do. I am guilty of wearing masks, and saying just the right thing so people can like me… accept me… love me. My focus has been so much on the outside that I wasn’t taking care of the inside near as much as I should have been. Out of the overflow of my heart, my mouth speaks. I had to do an internal search of those things that I have allowed to get into my heart, and I have had to do some major cleaning and repair.
One of the greatest statements that I have ever heard that has truly stuck with me over the years, was something that Pastor Brett Allen said during a Youth Congress 3 years ago. He was talking about character and I will never forget the passion and conviction that he spoke with! So many times when we say something we shouldn’t say, we say, “Sorry I slipped…” I am guilty of using that line in my life. But Pastor Brett said this line that has stuck with me for 3 years…
“You didn’t slip… you revealed.” Pastor Brett Allen
In my moment of weakness and frustration this past month, the first thing that came to my mind was that phrase… You didn’t slip… you revealed!!!
At that moment my heart hurt, because I realized that my heart was not in the condition that it needed to be. I had to do some repair and cleaning under my hood.
Psalm 19:3
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer
I want the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart to be pleasing to God!! You see in that moment, I wasn’t pleasing God, I was hurting Him. I was honestly broken for a couple of days because not only did I use God’s name in vein, I had no idea where it came from. You see I was so worried about how I looked on the outside, about doing whatever I needed to do to excel that I had stopped making sure that inside I was growing and healthy… so I allowed junk to get in through the music I had been listening to and the inputs that I allowed in my life… and I had stopped making it a priority for myself to grow deeper in my relationship with God. I had got caught up in putting on a good service, or making sure that the people I was working with or the kids I was reaching out to liked me and accepted me, that I stopped growing closer to the only one who really matters, my Father.
What about you? What is going on under your hood? Are we constantly worried about how people see us or what they think about us that we aren’t taking care of our hearts? You see I am not perfect, like my car, there is still work that needs to get done under my hood. Before the summer, I have to fix the AC and obviously need to make sure that I keep the oil changed and maintain the health of the car. Just like that needs to happen in my car, I need to continue to work on and repair some areas in my heart.
Psalm 139: 23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE
