Do you like yourself?
Kind of an interesting question.
Here's what I know: if I don't like myself, I generally won't like other people as well.
To be candid with you, most of us don't like something about ourselves--usually something we had nothing to do with or can do nothing about.
Such as: "Why can't I be taller, skinnier, better-looking? Why couldn't I have been born rich? Why couldn't I have been born in another place, or another time? Why couldn't I have a more pleasant singing voice or a better jump shot (I know that Rick Odden wishes for the last one)?"
You might be dissatisfied with the raw material you were given to work with, but the Bible says that God made you just as you are, and he specifically had you in mind at the time.
There is only one you.
Here's how David expressed it.
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous -- and how well I know it.
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God!" (Psalm 139:13-17)
Abraham Lincoln said, "It is difficult to make a man miserable when he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him."
Do you remember the gospel story of the man born blind? Jesus was asked who was at fault -- the blind man or his parents? Jesus said, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." (John 9:2)
Instead of grumbling about who you are, take some time to thank God for how he created you. He chose your parents, your birthday, your physical attributes, your talents, your intellectual capacity -- you are just as he wanted you to be. He even knows about your weaknesses and limitations.
Just like the man who received the gift of sight, remember that you are who you are so that, somehow, God's work can be displayed in your life. That's what he had in mind when he created you.
How might you display his work today?
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1 comment:
I generally like myself...of course, there are times when I say too much or say the wrong thing at the wrong time or act in the wrong way when I get on myself for those things but, for the most part, I am comfortable in my own skin.
I was in a conversation yesterday in which I was compared to the new guy and the comment was made that they wanted the new guy to be more like me. I told them that I am special...because God made me that way. God has given all of us special giftings and talents and opportunities. He gives us these things to help us grow, to stretch our understanding of Him and also of our capabilities through Him.
This year, I'm being asked to do some things that I'm not really comfortable with...it will surprise no one to know that I don't really like math or accounting or such like stuff. But it is what God wants me to do...prayer and counsel have proven that to me. God is stretching my capabilities...and He's really having to help me a lot! I am His and He is mine. We sing that, we say that, let's try to live that!
Love God. Follow His plan for your life. See what He has planned for you and how He plans to enrich your life. It won't always be fun and exciting and wonderful...that's not our promise from Him...but it will create growth (spiritual, mental, relational, etc.) in you.
Love people because it is in those relationships that you can really see God at work in your, and their, life. It's what God wants you to do!
Simple: Love God, love people. Stretch yourself with God's help.
May God bless you with direction and guidance for your life. Go with Him.
Jon
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