Appearance and Reality

When Shishak, king of Egypt, carried away the treasures of the temple and the shields of pure gold which Solomon had made, Rehoboam made brass shields to take their place. He could no longer display the glittering shields of gold on state occasions, but he wanted to seem royal anyway. So he practiced a sort of deception upon himself and upon others. He kept up the appearance of state by causing the armor­bearers to carry before him cheap brazen shields. This concept, keeping up appearances, is a species of hypocrisy. Often there is a great difference between appearance and reality. It is a caution we would all do well to heed, that which was uttered by Jesus when he said: "Judge not according to appearance."

I am not sure who said it, and I am not sure they would admit it, but someone once said, "Seeing is believing." However, seeing is deceiving would be closer the mark. We are deceived almost as often, perhaps quite as often as not by what we see. The more we reflect upon these words the more truth we find within them. All that glitters is not gold. All bright shields are not golden. Judge not according to appearance.

This is a good exhortation for us to heed in our contact with the natural world. Often in nature seeing is deceiving. We look at the sun and it seems infinitely smaller than our earthly home. We look at the landscape and just past the horizon the sky seems to touch the ground. The earth seems to have a flat surface. It seems to be stationary. The sun seems to rise in the morning and set in the evening in all these cases is exactly the reverse of the appearance.

Seeing is deceiving.

This is a good exhortation for us to heed in our estimation of the wisdom of men. There are many people who want to seem wiser than they are. Armchair scholars abound. Rehoboam could not produce the real thing. He wanted to appear to be something he was not. His wisdom is seen as folly.

This is a good exhortation for us to heed in our estimation of the happiness of those who live wickedly. Judge not according to appearance. Do not mistake brass for gold.

This is a good exhortation for us to heed in estimating man's success or failure in life. Do not mistake brass for gold. Many have fallen during the battle of life. Our great God sees beyond the tangible.

This is a good exhortation for us to heed in forming an estimation of a man's character. There is a Latin phrase, sine cera that is literally translated "without wax." It seems that when ancient furniture was made it was cut from solid wood. However, if the wood had a wormhole or a crack in it the craftsman would fill the spot with wax so that it gave the appearance of soundness. As in wood, so in man. Soundness of character must be sine cera, without wax. Our word "sincere" takes its root from this Latin phrase. Human character must be sound on the surface and to the core. It must show sincerity, for sincerity is the source of strength of character. How many beautifully waxed characters break under life's stress and strain? Hypocrisy is the opposite of sincerity. Judge not according to appearance. A hypocrite is a play­actor who hides behind a brass shield and makes us think he is carrying one of gold.