Mirror, Mirror!

"As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.^"

~Proverbs 27:19

Checking ourselves in a mirror is something most of us do every morning.  We get ready for our day by looking at ourselves carefully in the mirror as we prepare to go out into the world.  We want to make sure we've shaved properly, or our makeup looks good, or fix our hair so it isn't standing up weird.  Being able to see our reflection gives us an idea of how other people see us.

But there's another way people see us besides just our physical attributes--it's our character.  It's how we act.  It's how we treat other people.  It's how we conduct ourselves.  And while we're quick to notice a spot we missed shaving, or an eyebrow hair that needs plucked, we often fail to see flaws in our character.

I'm dealing with a difficult person right now.  Somebody I've known for a long time.  Somebody I think a great deal of and respect greatly.  Somebody that has come a long way in life and accomplished a great deal.  Somebody that didn't used to be difficult.

When I first met her, she used to get so upset with people that treated her disrespectfully.  When people were short with her.  When people made unreasonable demands of her.  But she was strong in character, and she was determined, and not only did she survived those early challenges, but she went on to thrive.

But now that she's past those early challenges, she treats people the same way that people used to treat her.  She's short with people.  She makes unreasonable demands.  She's disrespectful.  And she's hostile to anybody that tries to point out what she's doing.  Having experienced that herself you would think she would conduct herself differently.  But she's become the same kind of person that caused her so much pain and upset when she was on the receiving end.  

But she simply can't see it.  She refuses to see it.  She's not able right now to be honest with herself.   

We have to be honest with ourselves.  We have to see ourselves the way God sees us--and He sees everything.  That goes way beyond our reflection in the mirror.  So we have to look into our hearts, and into our minds, and into our souls and recognize those places where we fall short.  We have to recognize those places where we don't reflect Christ's love.  We have to acknowledge them.  Pray about them.  Ask for forgiveness when we're wrong.  And work very hard on those ugly places we can't see in the mirror.

And believe me, that requires a lot more work than going over that place on your chin again you missed with the razor this morning.  

~Todd E. Creason