Rotten From The Inside...

The road I travel to work in the morning is a magnet for animal traffic as well. I've witnessed all sorts of animals cross the road, from birds to rabbits to even deer (had a close-encounter with a deer close to a month ago). Unfortunately many animals don't make it and it takes a while for the highway department to clean up the massacre. I've been noticing a raccoon carcass off to the side of the road the past few weeks. Everyday I've been able to notice the subtle changes to it. Witnessing nature's recycling, seeing it change from a carcass to just fur & bones. Gross, I know, but I think about that and how it applies to our own lives.

Seeing that animal reminds me of the story of Dorian Gray, a horror story written by Oscar Wilde. The tale told of the story of Dorian Gray and his fascination with a painting someone had painted of him. Lamenting that the beauty of his visage found in that painting would be lost in himself as he aged, he made a deal to sell his soul in return that the painting would age and he would retain his youthful good looks. Becoming a depraved individual, Dorian fell into gross debauchery with no regard to the consequences. 18 years had past, Dorian still looking his youthful self, locked in an attic for years he revealed the painting to the painter - a sickening sight. The painting had aged and acquired the signs, scars, & effects of every debauched act that Dorian committed. Eventually Dorian had enough and tried to destroy the painting, killing himself in the process.

So what's that got to do with anything? I suppose the analogy would be that any thing that we "try" to hide will eventually be found out - no matter how "good" we are at hiding it. Corporations have crumbled due to "cooking their books" to look profitable on paper but reality catches up. People have been caught in their own web of lies, I think of stories like Vanilla Ice (lied about being from "da hood"), James Frey (his book, "A Million Little Pieces" ended up on Oprah's reading list and he gained fame & fortune, but was found to be a fraud and his "real life" book fictional), or a Vietnam vet I read about recently that had many honors given to him by local and national foundations over the years only to find out that his service was questionable & the medals he claimed he received were purchased from surplus stores.

We may put on a good "front" that we want the world to see, a "front" of success/wealth/happiness. But like a house of cards, it's only a matter of time before the whole thing collapses and the truth comes to light...

"Truthful words stand the test of time,but lies are soon exposed." - Prov 12:19, NLT


MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com