23 Jul, 2009

Police Catch Underwear Thief

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police uncovered over 1,000 pairs of underpants and more than 100 pairs of swimming trunks after catching a thief nabbing another three pairs for his collection.

Guess they're not The 46-year-old man was caught Sunday pinching three pairs of pants from a sports hall in the western town of Gelnhausen. Police then came across the enormous collection of underwear while searching his flat.

"They were all evidently in use, but had been washed and neatly stacked away," a police spokesman said Monday.

Police are now investigating where all the underwear came from. The suspect claims to have acquired then from car-boot sales and over the Internet.

Story and photo taken from http://www.reuters.com

Matthew 23:25,26

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

What Does God Say About What's Underneath?

Todays' story is pretty funny. Why a thief was so concerned with stealing the undergarments of others we may not ever know.

What we do do know is that God is concerned with what is on the inside.

We should remember that the teachers of the law and the Pharisees were highly respected in Jesus' time. They looked the part and appeared to have everything together.This wasn't good enough for Christ. Underneath their wordly success was greed and self-indulgence. I am oftened humbled (everyday) just how self-indulgent and hypocrital I am in my walk with Christ.

It is almost natural for me to try and create a certain type of appearance when often my heart is far from God. I wander around thinking that things will change when the reality is it won't if I don't choose to clean up my act.

Let's focus on cleaning up what goes on inside us by choosing Christ over greed, self-indulgence, and judging others only by their outside appearance.

  • Think about some ways you might act and/or pretend to be someone you're not. Do you try to leave an impression that might not be true with others?
  • Consider some ways that you might clean up the inside of your cup (or heart, i.e. - I will be conscious of the negative words that come out of my mouth and try and change them).
  • Ask God's forgiveness and seek to try and live a godly lifestyle.
  • Encourage others around you to think more about what is on the inside than their physical appearance.
  • Look for ways to encourage them with compliments for character, kindness, etc...  instead of just looking to compliment them on their looks.
Comments

Ornament

The Daily Bide is brought to you by a team of writers from Youth for Christ/USA. The writers all have various years of experience in youth ministry but share a common bond in serving Jesus and discovering what it means to abide deeply everyday and to connect God's Story with those around them. A number of the Daily Bide writers have also written portions of our 3Story® resources. You can check out our resources at the 3Story.org website or connect with our writers at 3story@yfc.net. If you have a question or a story you would like to share, please reference the Daily Bide date in your email.

YFC works with young people on campus and in the community in over one hundred countries around the world so that they might have an opportunity to become a follower of Christ and be a part of a local church.