On the Inside - Pastor's Pen for 19th October 2025

Takapuna Beach

I find it interesting that the speaker of our parliament is instigating a review of dress standards within the house. Ties for men may become mandatory again. My personal opinion is this is another small and petty way of bullying those who represent the refreshing diversity we now have within the halls of power. It is a distraction from the real business of serving the people of New Zealand..

Dear reader, before you label me as a screaming lefty, please know I am well acquainted with the rewards of sartorial excellence. You know I wear a blue suit most Sundays. In the early eighties I was the recipient of the of the Efficiency Cup at the Howick Boys' Brigade end of year prize-giving. This meant that by the weekly accumulation of points for smartness and shiny buckles and badges, I was literally the best guy on parade that year. My brother won it the following year, so the family had it covered. We got through a lot of Brasso between us. Yet my outward appearance really said nothing about the state of my mind and heart. People didn't have many clues about that because I didn't say very much.

Jesus makes the point I'm interested in very clearly when he is giving the Pharisees and teachers of the law a tongue-lashing in Matthew 23: 27-28;

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."

External appearances can be a distraction. Speaking personally again, I find a degree of confidence in being appropriately attired for the context I am in, but it's never the main thing. When Samuel was choosing a king for Israel, the Lord reminded him; "the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." As scripture teaches us, we should attend more to what is on the inside than the appearance of the outside. May the Lord find our hearts full of compassion, seeking his righteousness. Shalom