Lost Marbles at Belton

Belton House in Lincolnshire is a grand old mansion about which I have previously written. Aristocrats and upper gentry have always enjoyed living in houses too large built of the best materials and furnished in the most lavish styles. By impressing the little guys with their pomp, they were reckoned the more powerful; by impressing their peers and betters, they were likely held in higher regard.

Yet a little sniffing about shows that they, too, cut corners. This window edging, above, looks like marble, but it is painted wood. Oh, there is plenty of the Real McCoy about, such as below, but there is also the fake, mixed in.

Sometimes we effect airs and graces. We present ourselves as deeply pious to a watching world while He, who sees all, tests what is genuine and what is fake. Be authentic in your faith. If your faith is made of fool’s gold or painted wood, repent, and get the real thing.