It was 1991, and I was interviewing for my very first job in journalism. I so wanted that news reporter position at my hometown daily newspaper. I was fresh out of journalism school with lots of drive and very little experience.
Still, I had taken the “Keys to a Successful Interview” class at Indiana University, so I was sure I would do great. I had on the recommended navy suit, the classic pumps, the neutral hosiery and minimal make-up. I looked the part.
I had strong clips from my work at the Indiana Daily Student, and I had practiced answers to questions I thought I might be asked. I was ready.
As the interview progressed, I answered each question to the best of my ability, offering big, confident grins–so pleased with my performance. After shaking hands with both editors who had conducted the 30-minute interview, I walked briskly out of the office and slid into my car.
“I did it!” I said to myself, glancing at my reflection in the rearview mirror. That’s when I noticed–I had lipstick all over my teeth! Every toothy grin had been plagued by Barely Pink lipstick. I was mortified.
I had been so prepared. So ready. So clueless. I hadn’t even looked in the mirror before going into the interview. I thought I had it all together, but I really had lipstick all over my teeth.
Ever been there?
Can you imagine going weeks without looking into a mirror? We need mirrors so that we can see what needs to be brushed, cleaned, touched up and readjusted. Without a mirror, we might go weeks with a piece of corn stuck between our two front teeth, never realizing it.
None of us would let even one day pass without inspecting ourselves in a mirror. So why do we think we can get by neglecting God’s mirror–His Word? If we don’t look daily into His Word and let the Holy Spirit reveal what needs to be cleaned, touched up and readjusted, we might have ugly sin right between our two front teeth and never realize it.
First Corinthians 3:18 says, But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Reading God’s Word has to be a part of our daily routine if we ever expect to become beautifully Christ-like. And, here’s the good news: the more consistently you look into God’s mirror, the more you’ll begin to like your reflection.
Needless to say, I didn’t get that reporter’s job, but I did manage to get another news-writing position not long after. And guess what I did before I went into that job interview? You got it! I read God’s Word, seeking His wisdom. And, of course, I checked my teeth for lipstick.
Have you checked your reflection in God’s Word lately? If not, let this be your prayer today:
Heavenly Father, please give me an intense hunger and thirst for your Word. Help me make time for meditating on your promises every day. In the Mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.
(BONUS: To keep lipstick off your teeth, color in your lips with a lipliner pencil before applying lipstick in the same shade. That will help keep your lipstick from migrating.
Next, take your index finger and place it in your mouth. Then, close your lips around your finger and pull it out. Now the lipstick that would have ended up on your teeth is on your finger!)
