Nothing like starting out with a link: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/put+lipstick+on+a+pig
Yesterday I applied the first coat of primer to the paneling on my bedroom walls. It looks like a blotchy mess to me. This primer is very thick and difficult to work with, at least for me. One who is definitely not a professional house painter. To be honest, I could have left it alone and it would have been fine. My house though, the way it sits and with all the trees, can be very dark. My hope is that by painting the walls a light color will brighten the place. But a coat of paint does not change the fact that underneath is paneling. That got me thinking.
What paint do we apply in the hopes of covering something?
We can wear make up in the hopes of approving our appearance. We can wear expensive clothing or jewelry. We can live in a big house and drive expensive vehicles.Unless our heart is good though, it means nothing. Unless we are care and show that compassion to our neighbors, it means nothing. Eventually the real person under the fancy trappings will show through. There is this saying that beauty is only skin deep but ugly lies to the bones: https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/55/messages/901.html
There has always been cover ups in politics. Often all or part comes to light, sometimes correctly sometimes in garbled conspiracy theories and outright lies. My own opinion is that much of that is a deliberate act to keep us arguing with each other. That way the full truth remains hidden, but that too could just be another conspiracy theory on my part. Smoke and mirrors like a magician uses to keep the audience enthralled and amazed and yet keeping the secrets of how and what hidden.
False preachers have their own cover up. They take the Word, twisting and turning it to fit their agenda. Like a serpent asking, “Did God really say?” Using a mastery of language and articulation to confuse and misguide the immature of faith.
Many use styles of dress to set themselves apart. I was going to use examples but decided against that because not all differences are a cover up of wrong. It is however a reality that people and or groups, will dress themselves up to separate themselves from others. Flashy clothing, robes or jewelry to draw attention away from a dark, tarnished, heart.
The list could go on and on but that would grow tedious and boring. The point here, unless the heart is pure, good and filled with compassion and love, nothing you cover yourself with will matter. One can put a costume on a dog, inside it is still a dog. One can cover deception with glitter, underneath it is still a lie. Just as untreated rust will bleed through that coat of paint, darkness will bleed through the light unless treated properly. One with a good heart needs no cover up, their light, their truth, their love shines brightly.
Words from The Dirt Road 