Today’s trends of “looksmaxxing” and “bonecrushing” are just another version of the world’s constant focus on the external. Even as a church we can get focused on the external looks and activity, even very good activity, at the expense of our own renewal. We are here to be “renewed by God for the renewal of our neighborhoods” but that first part must come first.
It starts with being authentic to ourselves and acknowledging our struggles and our failures, and welcoming in love those who do the same. It means rejecting the influence of the Pharisees, those who seek to layer on requirements to our relationship with God, who seek to tie Christ to ethnicity or to a political party or to some other mechanism for gaining and maintaining power, wealth and influence.
Jesus calls out specifically the practice of declaring certain resources “corban” which was functionally a loophole to get people out of supporting their family. He calls out the overindexing on external appearance and ceremonial laws. We could call this “soulmaxxing” and Jesus hates it.
Jesus makes it clear that it’s not the outside that is meaningful, but what comes from the inside. Lust comes from within our hearts, it is not imposed by women’s (or men’s) bodies or behavior. Greed and envy likewise.
Our faithfulness is not demonstrated by our rituals. Anything or anyone who pushes us to be more religious but less loving is pushing us in the wrong direction.
— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, October 11, 2026