As I was driving this morning I was convicted by God.  The word that came on my mind was:

FACADE

Looking on google, the word facade is defined as:  an outward appearance that is maintained to conceal a less pleasant or creditable reality.

I knew exactly what God was talking about and have had many thoughts on this very issue.

Many years ago, as I walked the strip in Las Vegas, I was convicted by this very concept.

As I glanced on Treasure Island, it was clear to me:

They (the city of Las Vegas) are trying to create heaven on earth, a Eutopia, a place where “all of your dreams come true”.

Nothing is held back.  

There are buffets where you can stuff yourself with food.

There is architecture and some of the most beautiful man-made structures that you could ever lay your eyes on, walk in, or be in.

There is the bombardment of LOVE—or false LOVE—as sex is in your face everywhere you look.

As I began to be aware of this, I watched a woman in a casino playing a slot machine.

She looked like she had been on the same slot for hours—maybe even all night.  As I watched her, she hit a $500 jackpot.  She didn’t even stop.  She just continued to play and shove money in and pull the handle.  No celebration.  No conversation with another.  No smile.  She was in a trance pulling the handle on a slot machine.

Unhappy.

Lost.

Unaware of anyone around her.

Seeking something that she would never find.

And all the while God is waiting.

Haggai 1 6  “You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

As I stood in Los Angeles, I saw the same thing.  Standing in the middle of an intersection I saw the most bizarre thing I had ever laid eyes on.  

On one side, the richest city block in the world (or one of them).  Sidewalk cleaners, thousand dollar suits, business people hustling to meetings.

On the other side—skid row.  10,000 homeless.  People in cardboard boxes.  Broken.  Broke.  Lost.

I sat with a man on skid row who had left his work place where he was making six figures and walked across the street to live in skid row.  To him, what they did on the rich side made no sense.  And he gave up worldly wealth because he had found no peace.

He saw the FACADE.

Ask God to open your eyes.

Ask Him to remove the blinders.

Ask Him to give you hope and a future.

Because before you minister to others you have to minister to yourself.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J