Mirror, Mirror
Mirror, Mirror…
Mirror, mirror on the wall - who is the fairest of them all? Remember that scene in the movie, Snow White? The wicked queen stood in the mirror and asked this question that we have all remembered for years and years. She wanted to know who was the fairest in all the land. Was it her or was it Snow White? When the answer came back that Snow White was the winner of the title – she was furious. She . . . well, we all remember what happened…the apple, the dwarfs, the prince.
While that was just a fairy tale, it is a reality for many of us. We stand in the mirror and ask, Mirror, Mirror on the wall – how do I measure up to them all? What good can come from that question? What good can come from comparing ourselves to others? The truth is nothing good can come from our measuring ourselves to other flawed humans. That is not what God intended us to do. And if we choose to do it then it will lead us to take on more negative attributes – such as pride or jealousy or insecurities.
Pride, Jealousy and Insecurity
When we choose to compare ourselves to others we can rest assured that some other sins will begin to pop up in our life. Comparing ourselves to others leads us to destructing behaviors. See if you see yourself in any of these three examples:
1. First of all, there is pride. If we stand in that mirror and see an area we have excelled in or experienced growth in – then we should be careful to not be swallowed up by pride. Now, there are two kinds of pride – one is that self-righteous pride. This is the pride that God hates because it causes us to trust in our own self and prevents us from seeking after God. We need to remember that it is only by the grace of God that we have anything – good looks, intelligence, personal belongings, relationships, etc. We should not feel proud of our accomplishments, but thankful for God’s blessings. This is not to be confused with taking pride in our self by doing our best and putting our best foot forward. God expects our best. But, the pride that stems from self-righteousness is sin and causes us to become blinded to our need for God.
“The wicked are too proud to seek God” Psalm 10:4
“If anyone respects and fears God, he will hate evil. For wisdom hates pride, arrogance, corruption, and deceit of every kind.” Proverbs 8:13
2. Next, comparison can lead to jealousy. When we compare ourselves to others – we often find ourselves longing for what that other person appears to have. It may be nice things, a great relationship, a business success, good children, or a great physique. This type of jealousy is sin. (Ugh! Are we all convicted?) Let’s talk truth here. When we are jealous – then we are not content with what God has given to us. We are not satisfied and are not dwelling in the assurance that God is enough. Shame on us! What more could we want than a Heavenly Father who will never leave us nor forsake us, who loves us with an everlasting love, who has freely offered us grace that we do not deserve and who has prepared a place for us? And here we are thinking – “could I just be skinny, too and have a big house?” Wow! We are arrogant beings aren’t we?
“For you are still only baby Christians, controlled by your own desires, not God’s. When you are jealous of one another and divide up into quarreling groups, doesn’t that prove you are still babies, wanting your own way? If fact you are acting like people who don’t belong to the Lord at all.” I Corinthians 3:3
3. The last attribute our comparing ourselves with others creates is insecurity. This is a huge issue in our culture today. There are so many people drowning in their own insecurities. Our comparisons are so unfair. We are comparing our weaknesses to other people’s strengths. But the truth is we should be celebrating our strengths and our God given gifts. Yes! We ALL have them!!! You see, the enemy wants you to believe that you have absolutely nothing to offer. Are you buying into that? That could not be farther from the truth. What is the truth? Well, I believe the Bible – God’s Word – is truth and in it He says that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made”. That means that you are an awesome wonder! WOW! You didn’t know that did you? You, my friend are an awesome wonder! He has filled you with worth and value and there is nothing you can do to diminish that. He has given you gifts and talents that you are to use for His glory! Are you? God desires for you to be secure in who you are and in whose you are – because when we are then we will freely serve. Our insecurity forces us to look inward (in-security) trying to find security in our own self. But that is not where security is found. True security is only found in the Lord. We can be secure in who He is. We can be secure in whose we are. We can be secure that we can do all things and be all things we should be through Him who gives me strength.
“And it is He who will supply all your needs from his riches in glory because of what Christ Jesus has done for us.” Philippians 4:19
Whew! That was a lot to take in. Thank you, Lord for teaching us this today. We will prayerfully ask that we will no longer say, “Mirror, Mirror on the wall, do I measure up to them all?” But instead we will cry out, “Father, Father up above, help me trust in your unfailing love.”