Content with the Mirror

Do you remember the famous story “Snow White?” This made its debut in 1937 and now it’s legendary. Throughout the years there have been remakes and revisions to the original but no matter the spin they put on it, the message of one famous line speaks loudly to us today. “Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” The answer to this iconic question speaks volumes about ourselves and what we see. There’s no doubt that one of the greatest vices we face as people is pride. This cunning, crafty and diabolical scheme has taken down the mighty over the decades and yet it still runs its havoc today. It seems humanity repeats itself over and over again and the same vice trips up a new generation anew. Pride has no discrimination and takes no prisoners. It doesn’t care about our faith, our past or our issues. All it wants is our fall and if we’re not careful, we will fall from its influence.

Therefore, have you wondered why pride is so powerful against us?

I’m sure there are many answers to this question but when I think about my life and those around me, I believe pride is powerful because of insecurities. Pride feeds on the weakness we see in ourselves which stirs us to have the need of, being better than someone else or even more so, comparing ourselves to others as the metric of success. Comparing ourselves with each other is warned against in the bible and yet we do this every day. This viscous cycle breeds pride as we look at others thinking, I’m better than them or I don’t measure up to them. From these thoughts we have an internal war that fights for our place among those around us but it seems no matter what, it’s never enough and nothing feeds this more than what we see in the mirror.

Most days our lives are in the pace of our schedules and when we look in the mirror we don’t think about anything specifically to what we see. But, there are moments when we look in the mirror and we begin to tear down what we see based on the insecurities in our lives. One thing is true about everyone, we all have insecurities, it’s just they impact everyone differently but believe this, you’re not the only one who looks in the mirror and picks apart what you see. It’s from this reality that pride feeds on the weaknesses of our lives and wreaks havoc on us and on those around us. This domino-like result spreads far and wide as those closest to us see the raw results and then those farther from us feel the tinge of comparison, acceptance or rejection based on how we feel. And what’s crazy, we’ve done this to others just like it’s been done to us and so the cycle keeps going on and on.

So what do we do with this?

I believe we overcome this by being content with the mirror. Meaning, when we embrace who God has made us to be, we will be free of the insecurities lurking in our lives. Through Jesus, we can get to the point that when we look in the mirror, we’re content with who we are and we know He’s still working in our lives. This is huge and it counters the culture that feeds comparison on various forums but leave us hollow because our standard isn’t the person next to us or down the hall, it’s Jesus. He’s the standard of our lives and He loves you and me for who we are, flaws and all. Our body shape and size, our eyes, our hair, our skin, our pigment, our skills, and our history. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Yeah, it’s deep isn’t it? Let that sink in for a moment. Please read this part again. It’s deep and it’s the healing we all need. I’ve learned this over time, that salvation through Jesus doesn’t solve our insecurities. This is why Christians still hurt each other, still compete against each other, lie on each other, gossip about each other and want to be better than each other but I believe there’s a way of to solve this madness and it’s the love of God.

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

1 John 4:18

I believe our insecurities are a part of the torment mentioned in this verse and notice, it’s a lack of His love in our lives. Too many are tormented by looking in the mirror and devaluing what they see. Too many are bound by insecurities and live through lack based on what they see or don’t see. Too many are critical and jealous because they see others as having more or being more than them and this is not what Jesus has for us. The answer, receive more of the love of God. This is it, and this is how we can be content with the mirror. We can actually love ourselves with a healthy respect that comes from healing, grace and truth. We can live being secure with ourselves and others which empowers us to bring healing to those in our lives. Yes, this is possible and our best life will only be found through His life, which is why we must have more of His love.

Are you content with the mirror?

No matter your answer, start today in His love. This is a daily battle and it requires daily effort. The enemy is crafty to use insecurities as the cause in which we sin toward ourselves and toward others. In fact, I believe all sin is a physical sign of an insecurity on display but there’s hope through Jesus. He’s the one that causes us to be content with the mirror and live to our full potential now. Life is too short to be ensnared by what we don’t have, what we don’t look like, what we don’t do right and what we don’t feel like. All of this is a trap of pride waiting to bait us into a fall but our God is greater and He’s reaching for you now. He’s ready to heal and restore everything that has been taken from us. No matter if you deal with rejection, addiction, depression, suicidal thoughts, self-mutilation, hate, anger, lust, greed, anxiety, and pride, He welcomes you into his family to be loved and healed! He’s made a place for you at the table and you’re accepted by Him. Move forward and decide to kick insecurities out of your life and be content with the mirror.

So what’s the next step?

I encourage you to take His thoughts for you and about you and place them into your heart. Start believing what He says over what you say because He is truth. We do this by getting bible verses into our hearts by reading them, memorizing them and even speaking them out loud throughout the day. This is how we take His thoughts and place them in our hearts by faith because whatever we place in our hearts is what will come out. Let the process of this transformation begin by being faithful to the daily grind of believing what He says about you. This massive step is how we break the cycle of our insecurities and it’s be can be, content with the mirror.

God is for you and He’s mad about you! Move ahead and receive all the love He has for you.

The best is yet to come,
PD