Mirror Mirror on the Wall

09.05.11

Ezekiel 28.17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. NIV

It is a dangerous step to take one’s eyes off of the glory of the Lord; the consequences can be dire. Mirror, mirror on the wall, aren’t I the fairest of them all? Gleaming glory of the Lord, revealed to us through Your written word!

One of the hardest things to overcome in life for many is the seeming unfairness of how giftedness or talent is dispersed. Most don’t understand the dispensing of gifts but they do understand that so and so has that, and I don’t. Or worse, I have this and so and so doesn’t. The fairest assessment of who we are is not what we have, but who we are with what we have. The cruelest cut often is comparing oneself with what one does or doesn’t have to someone else’s have or have not. But there again, it’s the comparison thing – or the possession thing; that’s what trips us up.

Self-worship insidious and subtle. It creeps in upon a person and, without the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, it is unstoppable. It feigns humility and false modesty. And it always keeps one eye in the mirror as it watches itself gavotte…  Look at the way we dress up and preen as we prepare to go out in public. And our society fuels the flames of self-worship incessantly; sadly though it’s only according to its rules: if you only look like this, dress like this, or use products like this.

The apostle Paul told the Galatians, “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Galatians 5.26 NIV). He went on to say, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.” (Galatians 6.2-5 NIV) It is only before God we stand or fall.

Part of having a gift in the first place is being able to properly use that gift and not lord it over others who don’t have the same or similar gift; using that gift solely for the glory of God, not rubbing it in the face of those who don’t have it. Conceit is so dreadfully sneaky! I would rather have no gifts and a solid walk with the Lord, than have ten thousand gifts and all the accompanying attention and accolades of men, but no affirmation from God. The journey of the follower of Christ is all about character, not giftedness.

Wisdom trumps giftedness. Character supersedes content. We all must be wise to seek Him first – His Kingdom and glory – and then humbly use whatever we have from Him only and ever for the benefit of others. Pride came into the picture because of self-worship and that in turn corrupted wisdom. May I be wise with whatever I have; and content with whatever I don’t have from the Lord.