It is Sunday morning. I am changing my outfit for the the third time. “Does it look okay?” I wonder. My hair is still tightly held by rollers. I have carefully applied my makeup, but am mentally regretting the dusty rose lipstick and considering the raisin cream instead. Depends on the outfit. I hear my husband calling me to hurry up. This dress will have to do. I quickly unroll my hair, grab some tissues, and jump in the car. My husband starts the engine. Everyone was waiting on me. I flip down the visor and begin the messy task of taking off one lipstick gloss only to replace it by another. Once finished i start to fix my hair. I finish proud of my accomplishments, flip up the visor, and am shocked that we are already pulling into the church parking lot. We jump out of the car. I straighten my dress. I grab my purse and secretly wonder, “Do I look okay?”

Unfortunately this has been my morning routine far too often while getting ready for worship. I am more concerned about my outward appearance than preparing my heart and mind to go before the Father. Yet once the the call to worship begins, it does not matter how beautiful my dress or perfectly coifed my hair. It is me and God, heart to heart, and face to face. Am I ready to pledge my adoration for the Father, or am I too worried about the color of my dress?

In that moment I cannot help but think of the Israelite women of old who willingly gave up their mirrors so that the simplest of God’s instructions could be followed. The Bible says, “He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting.” (Exodus 38:8) There must have been no greater feeling for the Israelite people than to enter into the Tabernacle courts to praise the God of their salvation. When they entered into those gates nothing else mattered. It was simply them and God, their sin and His grace, their devotion and His unyielding love. Even the tabernacle before them was built by their sacrifices and His guidance.

Sometimes we should throw away our mirrors. When the outside becomes more important than the inside, then the God of our salvation cannot be properly worshipped. Only when we sacrifice ourselves can we truly worship him. Let’s put away our mirrors and look to God instead.

–Christa Bryant