True Mirror

Wouldn't it be nice if we could be who we think we are?

I know it sounds strange, but our self-image is sometimes out of synch with the image the world has of us.

When it comes to introspection and self-judgment, are we as honest as we would like to believe?

For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor¹s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. - Galatians 6:3-5

Paul tells us to check our own work and carry our own loads.  My first reaction is, "I do that."

But anyone who has read these reflections knows that my checking is sometimes flawed.  I don't always catch the obvious misspellings and mistakes, even when I look for them, which I must admit, I don't always do.

And as far as carrying my own load, I rarely ask for help, and sometimes that is pretty foolish of me.  So, maybe there is a deeper meaning here.

Paul is warning us against becoming consumed by pride.  But he does it in a strange way, by appealing to our sense of pride, telling us our work can become a source of pride, which he says is good?

Sometimes I wonder how Paul's letters were received by the members of the churches he wrote to.  "There he goes again," they may have said, "Ranting about something or other that we're doing wrong."

It does seem to be a common theme in his letters.  Like a nagging parent, he points out one thing after another that the followers of this new way are messing up on.

So, do they listen and does it all work out in the end?

As a body of believers, we are still struggling to work out how we should live and what we should do in this world.  When it comes to being somebody in the Body of Christ, we need to think differently about the ways in which we develop a sense of self-worth.  Our value comes from how we live our lives, rather than what we do for a living or who we think we are.

This, I think, is at the heart of Paul's message, and that is where the struggle lies.  We are conditioned to see ourselves as better then someone else.  We are a competitive creature in the world, if not by design, then by conditioning.

We can hear Paul's words and think he is telling us to be good examples, to be better than those who are non-believers, but in this reading, he is saying something different.

We need to be ourselves first.

We can only be truly humble and loving when we know our own strengths, faults and abilities.  Then we know when we need to ask for help, when we need to step back and when we need to step forward.

We are not nothing.

We are something amazing and special in God's eyes.  Our challenge is to see ourselves as God sees us, not with pride, but with understanding and appreciation for all we are capable of doing and being in this world.

Our mirrors need to be true.

More to come...


Image Credit