Burden to Impart:

In order to properly understand people, situations, and things we need a deep character. We should not know and judge people and things based upon their outward appearance, but rather by their inward condition. We should not be shallow people who can be easily deceived because we believe whatever we are told. In this world many people tell lies and try to deceive others. We should be deep in our character; we should look deeper than the surface of what people say or we can see; we should dig down, investigate, and research things carefully so we can make an accurate judgment. People who are shallow are easily fooled. People who are shallow only make superficial observations and therefore pass on inaccurate judgments and conclusions to others. The Lord Jesus warned His disciples not to be led astray by some false ones who would say, "I am the Christ" (Matt. 24:5). He also warned us to "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but within are ravenous wolves" (Matt. 7:15). We must not be satisfied by what we see on the surface (the sheep's clothing). We must find out what is inside.

Facts to Teach:

1. To know the real nature of a matter one must look deeper than the surface. If we make an evaluation of something by only looking at it on the surface we will draw a wrong conclusion. Some examples are:
   1. Sometimes people try to sell a car that looks good on the outside, but has a bad motor on the inside.
   2. Sometimes a very good book (like the Bible) has an inexpensive and unattractive cover. Don't judge a book by its cover!
   3. A person with a speech impediment may sound stupid, but they may be a very intelligent person.
2. A person who is not deep in their character is shallow and makes superficial observations. Superficial observations lead to a wrong and foolish understanding. For example, if someone brought a piece of valuable looking jewelry to a jeweler in order to sell it to him, a wise jeweler would not believe that the item was genuine until he had carefully examined it, weighed it, and maybe even drilled a tiny hole into it to make sure it was solid gold, not just gold-plated. A foolish jeweler would just look at its beauty, believe the seller's word, and buy it.
3. We, as Christians, should be deep in our character, searching and investigating things carefully so that we will have proper discernment and accurate judgment.
   1. The Lord Jesus told those who believe in Him that they should go on to know and abide in His word. Then they would know the truth and would truly be His disciples (John 8:31-32). We should not trust that we already know the truth. We should dig and search in God's Word to learn the truth.
   2. The Lord Jesus warned us not to trust everyone or believe everyone's words. He said false prophets would come. They would pretend to be God's servants and pretend to speak God s Word from the Bible, but they would not really be Christians nor would they really be speaking God's Word. Rather, they would speak their own ideas and concepts. They would be like wolves, who are hiding under sheep's clothing (Matt. 7:15). They would pretend to be God s people (sheep). Actually, they would be from the Devil (the wolf). They wouldn't come to feed God's people with His Word of truth, they would come to kill God's people with their lies and falsehood.
4. All young people should learn to be deep in their character. This will make them discerning in their observations and wise in their judgments. Many people are not truthful; many people are not honest; rather, they are deceitful and cheating. They must learn to not just believe people's words or trust in their outward appearance. They must learn to look closer at all of the facts, to listen closer to all of the details.