Kingdom Curb Appeal

I know I'm not the only person who finds myself watching a home renovation show. Not just one, though. There's something about the first fifteen minutes.

The next thing I know, I'm three hours in.

There's something about watching people work on things I'll never realistically put my own blood, sweat, and tears into.

Before I was a homeowner, I'd watch enough of these shows to consider myself somewhat of a subject matter expert. I'd make comments like, "That's way over budget. Why would you spend that?" And maybe become low-key, high-key, judgmental about the final product.

"You had $500,000. THAT'S what you ended up with?!?"

But now that I'm a homeowner, my tune changed a bit. I understand the value of budgeting for what's needed and what's wanted. I also empathize with the cost/benefit analysis, when it comes to spending money beyond a planned value.

Sometimes what brings you peace won't make sense to someone who only understands monetary value and accounting principles.

A phrase that crossed my mind recently was "curb appeal." It might be familiar to you, too.

When people renovate a home, or are searching for their "forever home,"this gets tossed around often.

In simple terms, "curb appeal" is the "aesthetic attractiveness of a property, as viewed from some distance by a prospective buyer."

The attractiveness from a distance made me think about Christianity as a whole.

We preach about being forgiven of our sins. recite some stanzas of "Footprints," and talk about our eternity in Heaven.

From a distance, who wouldn't want to be a Christian?

It seems simple and easy. Sign up here. Attend church on occasion. BOOM!!

But something that gets missed in both the curb appeal of a beautiful house and the promise of God is the lack of communication about the renovations both require.

I already told y'all - when I first started watching those home make-over shows, I was thoroughly unimpressed. You take a sledgehammer, put a hole in a wall, and ta-doooow!!

New living room.

Soo much more goes into the work than what is seen before a commercial break. To be honest, what is shown is a LOT of work. But the measurements, sanding, blueprint reviews, and swings of the hammer for every single nail - that's the stuff that gets cut out.

People don't want to see all the hand work. Viewers want the highlight reel and the finished product. They want to feel like that level of work is easy.

Maybe the folks who produce and host the shows are okay with that too.

The easier something looks on television, the more someone or some folks at home may feel moved to do it themselves. Thing of all the money that can be made based on this notion.

On top of that, think of all the unfinished projects.

The gallons of paint that went unused.

The flooring collecting dust because it never got laid.

The rooms that no one can inhabit because drywall never got finished.

It makes me think of the Bible plans that sit unread.

The books by Chad Veach, Micheal Todd, and Bianca Juarez-Olthoff that never got past chapter one.

The volunteer sign up sheets that get passed by every Sunday.

And both of those scenarios are just the case and point in my house.

I got hyped up about the end goal, and let down by the money, work/hours, and lifestyle changes that go into completing things successfully.

On the outside, I look like someone who has most of my internal work figured out and solved. I have a bright smile, pretty eyes, a good job, a nice house.

My curb appeal is nice!

But my actual life is a mess.

I think about how I look from the outside and the work I'm still doing in myself and my walk. I think to myself, "If people really knew the effort I am putting in daily, folks would think twice before asking me 'how are you?'"

Then I continued to think. Maybe being open about my messy life, and the daily renewal I put into putting on a smile everyday, will help someone else know they aren't alone.

Maybe my renovations will help someone else start their own.

Maybe my imperfections on show, will let others see how good God truly is.

Maybe we should all be a little more transparent about our lives, and a lot less dependent on our surface level success.

I just finished a message about how we get so full of the word of God that we turn people off from being Christians. We load ourselves with scripture and then use His word against His children.

In this conversation, let's see it from this perspective: Maybe doing our best to look put together also pulls people away from God because we aren't showing the behind the scenes work.

The work we are doing in ourselves.

The work He is doing in us.

The struggles of the big project that is living a life for the Kingdom.

I'm not saying we should walk around ragged and openly complain about all of the things wrong in our lives. I am saying, "It's okay to show that everything isn't right with us."

Think about the false curb appeal of Christianity and the folks who may not feel "good enough" to consider themselves a child of God. That unrealistic comparison yields a horrible expectation.

Unmet expectations turn into disappointments.

How we live our earthly lives, can create disappointment in God.

All because we try to live a life that looks perfect from a distance.

We make people sit during our commercial breaks. The stuff we don't want people to see because it's too hard to show the details.

Something I realized, once I officially became a homeowner, was how much more I appreciate (genuinely value the aesthetic of) a home with great curb appeal.

Why?

Because I know first-hand the work that happened on the inside, that most people will never truly grasp from looking at a house from a distance.

We need to be intentional about showing our renovations and the progress that goes into spiritual growth with God.

We don't need to let people all up in our business.

I'm not saying that, at all.

What I am saying is, it is our business to show God's business.

Some folks will never read the story of Abraham, or Moses, or Peter.

It's easy to lean on them because they made mistakes. God still used them. And they are the poster children of the correction God can do in our lives when we turn from our flesh-driven (sinful) ways, and put our faith in God.

But it's also lazy on us to lean on the stories of dead men, who God worked through.

When He's actively doing great things in us right now.