Whitewashed

Humor me. Solve this riddle:

I come in many shapes and sizes,

Tall or short, skinny or fat,

Memories linger within me,

Beautiful and perfect I may seem, but death swirls inside.

What am I?

            Did you figure it out? Yes? No? Here. Let me give you another hint:

Clean, I may seem,

Decorated and lovely,

There is no speck of dirt nor a spot of grime on me,

And yet,

I stand among the dead.

What am I?

            Better? No?  I will give you one more:

My walls are whitewashed,

I am not alive,

I was never alive,

The bones of the deceased groan within me.

What am I?

            Surely you must know what I speak of now? Whitewashed walls? Beautiful it may seem? Bones of the dead within? Memories linger? A tomb. Yes, so it would seem. But no. That is not the answer. Here is the answer:

You.

          “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.” – Matthew 23:27 NIV