Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

-Parallel verses:
James‬ ‭1:25
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Over the past 31 years of my life I have been in the sales and relationship building professions. And in sales, packaging is important. How something is presented or looks matters. Many times it gives you the “in” with a potential client to listen to their needs and then explain how your product can benefit them. Sometimes the packaging or advertising is totally contrary to the final product. The appearance or promise on its surface is deceptive. This was the case on one road trip in the middle of winter my first year in Idaho. I was driving for some time and a blizzard started. As I was driving a small Honda Civic, I could only see a small distance in front of me and the road conditions were getting more and more treacherous. I was late for a sales call, but I decided it would have to wait and I pulled off to find a place to sleep for the night. And I found the Tops Motel. It was nothing much to look at, but I figured it might have an intriguing inside charm. Sadly, I was wrong. The bed was old, the room was not cleaned well, and the view was of a freeway with truck noise. Also, the shower barely worked. Worst of all, it felt like I had bed bugs crawling all over me that night. (This was many years ago, and this place could be much better now under new ownership.)

I think of this experience when I read the above passage in Romans because Paul is calling out the same types of deceptions in these prideful Jews. They “advertise” that they are the “authority” on God, His law, and how to follow it. They tout their credentials as the “Tops” in the understanding — they studied under the best Rabbi, they memorize large chunks of scripture, they walk and act with authority, etc. But when Jesus looked at the actual living out of their lives — their actions — he was sorely disappointed. They were dirty, old and lacking life and light in their lives. They did not live life “as advertised”. Worst of all, instead of providing rest, like a comfortable bed does, to other people, they attacked those they served, like the bed bugs at the Tops Motel did to me. They took advantage of the poor and widows. They laid out judgement and had little grace or compassion.
So the questions I must ask myself are: Does my relationship with God and Jesus live “as advertised”? In contrast, what is the experience for those around me in life when they interact with me? Are these two in line? Do I say one thing and deliver something totally different in my love and kindness to others? Will they leave and laugh a little, saying, “That guys sure talks a big religious talk, but his actions stink?”


It is a good set of questions for me (and for you) to consider. The Light of Christ is not attractive in a run down and dirty heart that advertises itself as having life “all dialed”. Instead, I should seek to be humble, under-advertising my faith. I should call attention to God’s great work in a bad sinner such as me. And then over-deliver on the goodness others experience in seeing God work through me.
Lord, thank you for this hard word to challenge me in the integrity of my faith. Teach me to be better than “as advertised” in living it out! By your strength and in your power and love I can do this!