Last week, we went back again to my friend’s house to install the ceiling fan and light kit. This is a new replacement of the last DOA (dead on arrival) that I shared with you last time. This time, the kit is from a different vendor with a simpler design. The installation went smoothly without problem. We were all joyful when we saw the light and fan come on flawlessly. I looked at my friend’s eye and saw a trace of disappointment. I knew that he likes previous one better than the current one because the previous one is fancier and looks nicer. I told him that it is more important to have a functional kit than a nice looking one.

This lets me think of a joke that I heard recently from a radio broadcast, based on my memory, though.

One day, an old man was walking in the field, alone. In the middle of his walking, he heard someone was calling him, “Hey, old man”. He looked around and found no one. Then, the calling came again, “Hey, old man, I am a frog just next to your feet”. The old man looked down and found the frog. He was shocked to learn that a frog is able to speak.

The frog continued to say, “I am a frog being cursed, if you pick me up and kiss me once, I will become a beautiful woman.” While is still in his shock, the old man didn’t move.

Again, the frog pleaded, “Please… please pick me up and kiss me once, I can become a beautiful woman for you!” The old man came to his sense and picked up the frog. He then put the frog into his coat pocket.

The frog started to yell, “Don’t you understand what I have just said? You just need to kiss me once and then you will have a beautiful woman!”

 “At this time of my age, I would rather to have a talking frog than a beautiful woman!” The old man replied.

How many times we fell into the same trap of “Outward appearance is more important than anything”? Probably quite a few times, right? This is because we live in a society with a culture emphasizing outward appearance – “looking good” is a key to everything. To become a “looking good” person, we may take drastic measures such as push our diet to certain extreme or wear beautiful dress with gold jewelry, etc. However, this does NOT mean that we should not be looking good. It is the “over-emphasis” part is the problem. Apostle Peter in his epistle instructed, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 你們不要以外面的辮頭髮，戴金飾，穿美衣，為妝飾，只要以裡面存著長久溫柔安靜的心為妝飾‧這在神面前是極寶貴的(1 Peter 3:3-4)”. 

In the ceiling light and fan kit case, is it more important to have a nice looking but malfunctioned kit hangs on the ceiling or a truly functioning unit?  I think you know the answer. This actually applies to our spiritual journey too. We all know that Jesus dislikes teachers of the law and Pharisees and He scolded them as hypocrites like whitewashed tombs. Jesus wants us to learn that it is more important to follow Him by heart (a functional Christian) than by lips (a hypocrite).

May we be diligent to listen to His words and do what He says!