Have you ever wondered at how a simple piece of reflective glass can hold so much worth over a person? It’s not in the mirror’s beauty or craftsmanship. It’s not in it’s dimensions or size. And, a lot of times, it’s not even in the reflection that we see. More often than not, these things are constant, unchanging.
So what about a mirror or looking glass has the power to shape, influence, and control a person’s worth?
God uses this mirror metaphor in my life over and over again, forcing me to ask myself, “Where do you place your value? Who’s voice do you follow? and Where is true trust and faith present in your life?”
All of these questions stem from an over-arching question:
What has power over you?
Our society continually tells us who to be and how to be. I know you hear this a lot, right? It’s not a new topic. Cultural manipulation at its finest. But what’s even more disturbing than that last statement is our awareness and willing desire to seamlessly assimilate, allowing ourselves to be controlled, to be manipulated. We do this because we are human. We seek something outside of ourselves to tell us who we are. We long for acceptance, and we crave identity. So we are drawn to ideas that can give us substance, regardless if it’s in a positive or negative form.
But here’s the insane part.
What people think CHANGES. It’s ever-evolving, a chameleon morphing to new situations and new environments, forgetting one belief in exchange for another more appealing one. Society collects. It collects ideas, supporters, opposition. It collects power. And the scary thing is that it’s collecting you.
James Allen, a British philosopher, poetically describes the power struggle of the human mentality as:
Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills: —
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass.
The mirror itself doesn’t hold worth. But rather, it’s the ideas in our own mind that are projected onto the reflection. When we seek to discover our true self and use media, finances, magazines, friendship, careers, family, politics, etc. to help define us and speak to who we are, we will walk away never quite satisfied with the results. We’ll look at our reflection and long to alter our reality in order to achieve the next thing. And remember what I said about it constantly changing?? We are too. We are constantly keeping up with new idea of who we’re supposed to be or what we’re supposed to like. Sounds exhausting, right?
I’m reminded of the Lewis Carroll literary classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, after Alice finds herself in a place of full of mystery, a place that’s presenting new idea after new idea. Upon being asked, “Who are YOU,” she admits, “I — I hardly know, sir, just at present — at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”
Do you ever feel like that? I think we all have some time in our lives. I challenge you to ask yourself where are your thoughts founded? What do you believe about yourself? Are those beliefs worth believing? Or are they fleeting because of the mercurial nature inside of all of us?
Why not chose something CONSTANT? Why not allow your life to be shaped and molded by the Creator that speaks life into you?
That’s what I choose. What my God speaks over me. And I choose His thoughts and His vision, so rather than looking into the mirror and seeing all the mistakes and doubts and fears that this world tells me to change, I’ll see Him. And His truth that outlasts all things.
Hebrews 6:16-20
“People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
****Look out next week for an update on where the Lord directed me after my Race! I’m excited to share the news with you!
