Common Core

(Proverbs 26:23 KJV)  Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.

The issue here is not the common nature of the “potsherd” (earthen vessel NASB) (2789).  The problem is found in the cheap gilt covering.  In American history we find reference to this in the “Gilded Age”.  It was a time in our history in the late 1800's where a thin layer of wellness was laid on a core of rot.  It is the phony nature of the covering that is the problem.

We have many different types of “dross” (5509) in our lives.  In refining metal this is the inferior metals that rise to the top when heated to melting point.  In soup this would be the fat that is skimmed off.  In life it is the habits that become apparent as the Holy Spirit works on us.  They are all to be discarded.  In some products and people they are instead worn as a badge of honor.

So?  Are you being refined?  Too often we see residual sin in our lives and instead of rejecting it we shelter it.  Instead of rising upward we are drawn downward.  Unlike the cheap trinket in the discount store, we have a choice.