By Allen White
The Queen in Snow White inquires, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who’s the fairest
of them all?”
Mirror: “Not you.” (Allen White
Version)
We can’t see ourselves directly. As I’m
sitting here typing, I can see my hands and arms. I can see my legs. I can see
the rim of my glasses. But, I can’t see my hair, my eyes, my nose, or my ears.
The only way I have any idea of what I look like is from the image in a mirror
or in a photo or video.
Truthfully, I often like the idea of
what I look like rather than the reality of it. In my mind, I still look much
like I did in college. But, the scale reveals I weigh nearly twice as much as I
did then. And, the mail reveals my 25th college reunion is
approaching. How could this be? I’m so young and fit -- in my mind.
All of us tend to think the best of
ourselves, then we get a glimpse revealing we’re not as good as we think we
are. I’m not saying we’re all bad, but we’re certainly not all good either.
Just like the mirror reveals the
condition of our appearance, our hearts reveal the condition of our souls. Are
we jealous? Are we angry? Are we fearful? What are our hearts telling us.
Over the years, so much of discipleship
and spiritual growth has focused on “neck up” exercises. The more we know, the
more we grow, right? Not necessarily. As one author put it, “Most Christians
are already educated well beyond their level of obedience.” Ouch.
Our hearts reveal our condition. But,
our hearts speak differently than our minds. For instance, I’m not sure anyone
has ever purchased a car as the result of a rational decision. We usually go on
the lot and choose a car we will…love. Then, we buy something slightly more
expensive than what we intended to. The rationale comes afterward in justifying
the purchase and figuring out how we can afford the “low monthly payments.”
What do our hearts “say” about our
spiritual condition? What makes us anxious? What threatens us? What irritates
us? What excites us? What helps us feel calm? These indicators show us the
condition of our soul.
If our hearts only longed for good
things, then we would be good people through and through. If our hearts only
longed for evil things, then we would be truly evil people. The problem is none
of us fits neatly into either category. Sometimes good people harbor evil
thoughts in their hearts. Sometimes bad people surprise us and do something
good. Sometimes it’s hard to tell which is which.
The goal is not to live a perfect life,
but we must live an informed life. Our information should come from several
sources. Certainly our mind and our thoughts make a contribution. But, our
heart is quite a blabbermouth in revealing our spiritual condition.
What is your heart telling you? What
are you angry about? What are you sad about? What are you afraid of? If you’re
not sure, get out a sheet of paper and write one of these questions at the top.
Then, start writing the answers. God will help you grow in ways you never
realized you needed to grow.
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