Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Romans 12:9
In the middle of a little town square there was a large Christmas tree decorated with beautiful, big ornaments just calling mothers to take a picture of their children standing in front of it. My hubby and youngest were in front of us while my oldest and I were walking a few feet behind. We were enjoying the festive feeling when my eyes were drawn to a little boy standing in front of that Christmas tree. His mother was attempting without much luck to get that coveted Christmas photo. She was standing there telling her son to smile while the child glared at the camera with a face of bored disgust.
My oldest saw what was happening and turned to me. I’m not sure if it was my imagination, but I swear he was wearing a wicked grin on his face. I kept myself under control for a short while, then I lost it. I leaned over and between laughs I said, “That’s the exact same face you make when I want to take your picture.” I got no disagreement from him, just a big smile. His response made me laugh even harder which caused him to crack-up too.
After convincing my hubby we weren’t making fun of him, my youngest cringed and had a look of commiseration on his face for the young boy after being told what we saw. What about the poor mother? She probably just wanted a picture to make Christmas cards like I do every single year…which I don’t have…for the first time…EVER! It wasn’t that we didn’t have the perfect settings because we did. It wasn’t even that it’s a miserable thing every year because we tend to have fun.
I learned early on that if laughter wasn’t involved, we weren’t getting a good picture. It may take a hundred silly ones to get that one good one, but it eventually happened. Granted, there was one year that I thought a broken arm would be a possibility too, since the boys insisted on climbing trees in their good clothes just because it would look cool for the picture. That year my eye may have twitched just a little more than normal.
I’m not sure what it was this year that made the boys not really want pictures taken. I’m not even positive why I didn’t force the issue. Was it simply being a little lazy or could it have been something more. I’m aware that if they didn’t want to have pictures taken, they would’ve gone into it with the wrong attitudes. This would not have made it an enjoyable experience like the previous years. I didn’t want a miserable day being a part of our lasting memories even if there was a fake smile on their face for everybody else to see.
It wasn’t that the boys were totally against pictures for Christmas cards, they were against the typical posing while forcing a smile just to send to people they don’t get to see very often. They wanted to do a more unconventional card. They wanted me to take pictures of them fishing…catching the big one. You know, even Jesus liked fishermen. They wanted me to catch them doing the things they loved. They believe in showing real joy, not just a fake smile to plaster on a card. I respect that.
Since I’m missing a Christmas card, maybe I can get a picture of them fishing with their wide grins and say something like, “We hope you had a Merry Christmas and you keep reeling in love, joy, and peace all through the New Year!” Why are we sending pictures of our children on the day we celebrate Jesus’s birth anyway? It’s not about us, it’s about Him!
Now that I’ve worked out the whole picture thing in my mind, I must tell you what really stuck with me. My boys didn’t want to have fake smiles…you know the ones I’m talking about. The ones where it looks like the sun is in their eyes even though they’re inside, where it looks like they’re in pain and their faces are all scrunched up, where it looks more like a grimace than a smile on their faces.
How often do we go around with a smile on the outside, but unhappiness, pain, jealousy, or even bitterness on the inside? Are there ever times when we aren’t genuine with our smile or our love? Like a sincere smile, sincere love can be discerned by others. Those compliments given that weren’t really meant, the kindness that was shown because it would look good, or even the smile (yes, that smile) that was flashed to someone without brotherly love behind it can be seen by the receiver.
I challenge you to work on your sincerity and let a genuine love shine through your smiles today. Too many times we turn people away with hypocrisy. As Christians, we need to turn away from what Satan loves and turn toward what Jesus loves. That’s the best way to find sincere love. If not for that, we’ll keep putting on our fake smiles and even if we aren’t grimacing on the outside, we’ll certainly be doing it on the inside.
