The Spirit told me that I needed to give up
make-up, hair-coloring, and nail polish. I have to admit that it was
weird to see my natural toe nails, they had been hidden under a coat of
deep red for years. I also have to admit that I slowly eliminated my
make-up in stages. It was easy to throw out the lipstick and blush
because I rarely used those but I reluctantly let go of the eye-shadow
and concealer. That was enough right? After everything I had done
surely Heavenly Father would not care if I kept my mascara. It took me
four months and I ignored the feeling I felt every morning as I reached
for that mascara tube. I kept thinking "I will get rid of
it....eventually." The Lord was not pleased with my "eventual
obedience" and one day the thought hit me, "am I really allowing a tube
of mascara to come between me and the Lord?"
It went right in the garbage and I was finally at a point where I could be taught why He wanted me to leave those ways behind.
God loves a sincere heart. One that is real, is honest, is
true. Nothing fake, nothing false, nothing pretend. No hidden realities masked by a pleasant-looking illusion.
"The Great Imitator" - that is what President James E. Faust referred to Satan as. Consider for a moment the similarities between the Law of Consecration and Socialism. Isn't each individual giving up their time and abilities and belongings for the benefit of the community in both plans? Yes, only there is a HUGE difference. With Socialism it is forced, with Consecration it is freely chosen and lived by each individual.
Start watching for it and you will find that Satan has established imitations in our society that mimic God's ways and can deceive many (even the very elect).
For example:
After all the work of the creation was complete did Adam behold his wife Eve and see bright pink nail polish on her toes and long acrylic nails on her fingers? At what point were women "inspired" to began enhancing themselves and where did that source of inspiration originate? If God had wanted us to have colored toe-nails then why did he not create us that way? If He wanted us to have thick, everlasting hair color then why did He create bodies with hair that eventually turns gray and thins?
Until we embrace the realities of mortality then we are not learning the lessons that we need to during this life. For us to be worthy of inheriting a terrestial world we first need to live in harmony with the laws that govern the telestial world that we are living in.
God wants to bless us with things far greater than we can even comprehend, but He cannot until we are willing to recognize the truth and the imitations for what they are and live according to truth.
Before you assume that this post is just about our physical appearance, ask yourself: Do I pretend that I can afford things that I cannot? Do I pretend that I have ideal family relationships when I do not? Do I pretend that I am living the way God wants me to when I am not?
Christ was uplifting to everyone He encountered except the hypocrites. They were the ones who were so irritated by Him that they planned and executed His crucifixion. If you are being hypocritical about something, then change - we all are or have been at different times in our lives and in different circumstances. All we have to do to remove the facade is admit the truth to ourselves and to God (and others if necessary). When we come unto Christ with "real" intent, with a broken heart, confessing the reality of our situation then He can heal us and make us whole. Don't be surprised if this needs to be repeated, we should consider ourselves like an onion with not just one layer but several that need removed to get to the core. The Spirit will bring those layers to our attention one by one (Ether 12:27). Trust me, there is a lot of work and patience that is being put into each one of us, we must be pretty valuable to God. :)
Remember, in the parable of the prodigal son after he squandered his inheritance and finally "came to himself" - starving, broke, homeless... He returned to his Father- humble, teachable, sincere. The Lord cannot make anything of us until we come to this point. Unfortunately the seemingly perfect older brother had yet to reach that point and his Father lovingly showed him yet another outer layer that needed peeled away.
I have a handful of friends who have been blessed powerfully with the Spirit - the common quality among them is that they are all completely sincere. They are real, they don't shout their imperfections out to all the world but they certainly don't try to hide them. They acknowledge them and acknowledge their reliance on God's power to overcome them.
I thought I would include the definition for "facade:"
Facade - an outward appearance that is maintained to conceal a less pleasant or creditable reality.
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