Hey, did you happen to see…

…the most beautiful girl in the world.

Me and the most beautiful girl in the world

A few months back, I was at a conference, the theme of which was idolatry.  The speaker mentioned a number of things that can become idols to us.  One of the things he mentioned was the idol of beauty.

He went on to mention how some of us see the images of beautiful people in magazines or on TV and we can either become obsessed with trying to be like them or we can feel bad about ourselves because we aren’t like them.  In those cases, beauty has become an idol for us.

(I find it interesting that when you think of all the photo editing that goes on before a photo is published, even these “beautiful” people cannot even attain to their own image of beauty.)

Beware of edited photos
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/off-the-mark-slideshow/

On at least one occasion I have been at a conference for men where we are told something like “there will always be someone better or more beautiful” and so you need to learn to be content with the wife you have.  When I would hear that, I figured it must only be a problem for others, as I was already married to the the prettiest girl this side of the North Pole.

And for a long while I figured that since I was married to the most beautiful girl in the world, everyone else had to settle for less.  (Too bad, fellas.)

But the person speaking about idolatry got me to thinking—what is God’s perspective on all of this?

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.
(Genesis 1:31a, emphasis mine.)

Everything was very good.

So in God’s eyes, is there someone who isn’t beautiful?  Is it possible there is some person who is more beautiful than another?

Hardly seems possible.

I remember many years ago when I was at the University of New Hampshire, there would usually be a bunch of girls sitting by the window at Wildcat Pizza who would rate the guys as they walked by outside.  They would hold up cards, much like the judges at gymnastics competition.  (I thought I was doing pretty good when I got a 7.)

Does that seem like something God would do—rate people by their beauty?

I don't think so.

And so—this is for you married guys—I’ve come to realize that you, too, can be married to the most beautiful girl in the world.  And you have to neither change wives nor change your wife.

You only need to change your perspective to that of God’s.

God, help me to see people through Your eyes.

Danger of Comparisons

Philippians 3:12-16 (ESV)
¹² Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
¹⁵ Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
¹⁶ Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

LOOKING TO THE SIDE

I have recently been reminded of the danger of comparing ourselves with each other.  While such comparisons can be good in that a little competitive spirit can bring out the best in us, there is a double-edged danger to this.

On the one hand, I can get an inflated ego and full of pride as I see how much better I am than others at a given task.  On the other hand I can become discouraged and want to give up as I see how much better others are.

In our Thai class the other day, we were learning the expression to say: “In the past I was ___ but now I am ___.”

I remember as a child that I was not very good in sports and so I gave up on them completely.  The taunts and jeers kept me from wanting to participate.  I was better academically, but there were always those better than me and even though I was near or at the top of the class in some subjects, I always felt that I was behind.  In this case though I was confident enough to benefit from a competitive spirit.

LOOKING FORWARD

In the passage above, Paul reminds us that our eyes ought to be looking forward toward Jesus.  Jesus is our standard, not others.  Paul says in the following verses that people would do good to imitate him, but only as much as he follows Jesus.

Having Jesus as our example could be discouraging, as the goal of imitating Him seems impossible to attain.  Indeed, it is impossible to attain on our own, and so it should give us humility as EVERY ONE OF US, even Paul, need to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to become like Christ.  But this also gives us hope, because the same Holy Spirit is available to all—even to the lowliest and most awful sinner among us.  I can do no more to earn my salvation to anyone else.

LOOKING BACKWARD

While Paul tells us to forget what lies behind, he is telling us not to go back to our old way of life.  We don’t want to be like the Israelites, wandering in the desert wishing they were back in Egypt, rather than moving forward towards the promised land..

But one can be encouraged by looking back just to see what progress has been made.

I like to climb mountains.  But sometimes it seems like we walk for hours and seem to be no closer to our goal.  Then, all of a sudden we get to a viewpoint where we can see where we came from.  At that point we realize that, while we have not reached the top—and we may not even know how far ahead it is—we have come a long ways.



Columbia Rock--an encouraging point on the challenging hike to the top of Yosemite Falls

Learning Thai is like climbing a mountain.  If I look at the task ahead of me, it seems like I can never become fluent.

If I look to the side at others around me learning the language, I see those that are further along and those that are further behind.  There is not much value in making these comparisons—I can become either prideful or discouraged.  If I must look to the side, it should be either to give encouragement to others or to receive encouragement from them.

What does encourage me is when we are asked a question that I don’t know how to answer, but then I realize that at least I understand most of the words in the question, which I would not have been able to understand a week ago.  I am moving forward, even if I have not arrived.

BALANCE

In general, I like to:

• Remember where I came from,
• Live in the present
• Move forward towards the goal
• Encourage and be encouraged by those around me