We’ve seen the eye-catching commercials. A man in a tailored suit appears to be a well put together businessman. Then drops of water splash against his shoulders, and the suit becomes blurred.
As the water comes faster, the suit begins to wash away, running in rivulets down his arms. We soon learn he’s wearing body art—paint—artfully applied to illustrate the cleansing power of water. The suit is no more than a thin layer of deception, a second skin masterfully designed to fool our eyes into believing one thing instead of another.
The man appears one way to the casual observer, but when the rain of truth comes his way, his outside appearance changes, and we find the truth below the lie.
2 Peter 2:13 talks about people who wear body art over their true selves. They deceive others and live off their ill-gotten gains. Their self-righteousness is no more than soiled spots on their skin, because it is a false self-righteousness. They cover themselves with beautiful works of art, becoming learned businessmen, wise counselors, and trusted teachers, all the while dodging the rain of truth, so that the paint they’ve so carefully applied doesn’t wash away.
They can’t risk becoming unmasked, exposed, their applied perfection blurred before the eyes of the world.
What body art do we wear?
That’s not an easy question, because we all sport some body art. We feel ill, wishing we could be home and in bed, and we still smile and wish our coworker a good morning. We’re angry at something our child has done, and yet we hug them and tell them we love them. We publicly claim the blessings of God even when we have no evidence to support our assurance.
We all wear body art in one form or another. The real question is what is exposed when the rain of daily living washes our applied perfection away. Does our coworker still find us engaging when she learns we are ill? Does our child believe in our love even when our anger bleeds through? Is our faith in God stronger than our faltering circumstances?
2 Peter speaks to those who intentionally mislead others so that they can profit. Their body art will soon be blurred by the rain of reality, and all their pretenses will wash away, revealing the lie underneath.
When we place others before ourselves, however, our body art of Christian love becomes a thing of eternal beauty.
When we paint ourselves with Jesus, our value in the art world goes out of sight.
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