The words that are spoken to us by significant people in our lives ─ by friends, a spouse, parents, teachers, or an employer can have the same affect on us as the mirrors at the amusement park. When we allow the opinions of others to determine the way we see ourselves, the image we develop can become distorted in the same way the amusement park mirrors distort our bodies ─ and the more warped the mirror the more distorted the image.
We may have a difficult time seeing ourselves the way God sees us because the mirrors that have reflected our images have been distorted. Our parents may have said we would never amount to anything. Our teachers may have said we don’t have what it takes to go to college. Our employer may have said we aren’t qualified for a promotion. The doctor may have said it was terminal.
If we have only looked into distorted mirrors all of our lives, we will believe the distorted images the mirrors reflect.
The world’s answer to this sense of inadequacy is to develop a healthy self-image. But their concept of a self-image differs greatly from God’s original intention for mankind. Any time we measure ourselves by the world’s standard we will fall short of God’s glorious plan.
If the world is influencing and molding our thoughts we will become just as confused as they are. For example, in the ‘80’s the world promoted the concept of “I’m OK, You’re OK.” Then, in the ’90’s they decided we were all dysfunctional. We can’t listen to the world’s concepts or we will become just as confused as they are!
But according to Genesis 1:26, we have been created in the image and likeness of God; therefore, we must begin to see ourselves the way God sees us. To merely build what the world terms a healthy self-image is to fall short of God’s divine purpose and could possibly cause us to miss our God-given destiny.
Although we may have heard what God has planned for our lives, if we don’t believe it then we won’t obey it. James 1:22-23 says, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was” (NKJV).
James tells us that God’s Word is like a mirror reflecting our true image. If we continue to pay attention to what the mirror says about us, we’ll soon be transformed into the image in the mirror. We are able to laugh at the distorted mirrors at an amusement park because we have accurate mirrors at home that reveal our true image. God’s Word is the accurate mirror that reflects our true image, so we can laugh at the distorted image that has kept us from being who God says we can be!
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Transforming Your Self-ImageHave you ever been to an amusement park that had those funny shaped mirrors? There are mirrors that make you look really tall and thin. Others that make you look short and wide. There is also a mirror that makes you wide in the middle while your legs and neck look skinny. Words spoken by significant people in your life - friends, spouse, parents, teachers or employers - can affect you like the amusement park mirrors. You can change distorted images by simply getting an accurate mirror that reflects the true you. |
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