We all have an opinion about our self that was formed in our lives at an early age. It is a result of information we received from good, bad and ugly sources. Each one of these sources act like a mirror that reflects back to us an image of ourselves that may or may not be an accurate representation of who we truly are.
Have you ever gone to a carnival and visited the fun house? If you have then I’m sure you remember giggling as you looked at yourself in those mirrors. You could look like a pumpkin in one and a bean pole in the other. Then at the end you would see yourself as you really are. It’s easy to see yourself as a bean pole or pumpkin and know that really isn’t you, but discerning a distorted image on the inside of us is not so easy.
When we think about our identity- who we are- there are a variety of mirrors we can choose to look into. We can look at all the magazines and TV and see if we are measuring up. We can look in the money mirror to see if we are keeping up with the Joneses. We can look in the success mirror to see if we are at the top of the ladder. Every one of the mirrors can be very convincing.
I’d like you to rate yourself on a scale of 1-10, based on each of the following mirrors:
The Money Mirror- Do you have plenty of money at the end of the month or is the month always longer than the money?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The Success Mirror- Can you see the top of the ladder or are you still trying to find the ladder?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The Popularity Mirror- Is your phone ringing off the hook or is a call from a telemarketer a welcome event?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The Stuff Mirror- Are you struggling to “keep up with the Joneses or are the Joneses struggling to keep up with you?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The Health & Beauty Mirror? Are you beating the aging process or do you look like you’re rode hard and put away wet?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The thing with using these mirrors as our measuring stick is it is always changing? We can be popular in high school and dog meat at work. We can have lots of money and then lose your job. These mirrors ALWAYS keeps us performing and striving and the wonderful news is we don’t have to use these mirrors as our measuring stick.
We have one more mirror that we can look into everyday. It’s the mirror of God’s word. Like the last mirror in the fun house that shows us how we “really” look, God’s word shows us who we really are on the inside. The REAL YOU!
The ways of God are very different from our ways. Isaiah 55:8-9. We can try and find a secure, satisfying identity in the 5 distorted mirrors from above and we will always fail. It’s always variable and changing. Or you can pursue God and truly find who He created you to be.
Don’t get caught in the belief that:
Great body + admiration from others= a person to be envied.
Accomplishments + awards + praise from people= a person truly valuable to society.
Money + power + position + popularity = a life worth living.
The truth:
My personal worth does not come from money, power or achievements in life!
My value as a person is NOT DETERMINED by other people’s opinions of me!
I am bought with a price; I belong to God. 1 Cor. 6:19-20
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