“All our ways are pure in our own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.” Proverbs 16:2 (SyS paraphrase)
Have you ever considered the back of your head? Without two mirrors it is almost impossible. Certainly without mirrors we would never be able to “see” the back of our heads. But what I am suggesting does not require mirrors.
Unless someone tells us about the condition of the back of our heads, we will never know how it looks. For example, I have lost a patch of hair on the back of my head. I did not know that until one day, in the barber’s chair, it was brought to my attention. Suddenly, I became concerned about that bare patch of skin. For some unknown reason, it is an embarrassment. My character, integrity, and personhood have not diminished because of this loss of hair. There is no sin in falling hair. So what is the issue? Perhaps, if seen by strangers, they will laugh and make jokes about my patch. Perhaps it is a loss of my privacy. I am not ready to show my naked head to the world. In any case, it is not appealing to the eyes. Yes, the rest of my head needs work too, but at least I can survey it in the mirror at any time and put my best face forward. With the back I need help.
What I am suggesting is this: Let us consider all our unappealing traits; all those supposedly hidden attitudes and behaviors. They are similar to the back of our heads. We can not “see” them until someone tells us or we see them in the mirror. In effect, we think all our ways are right because we are looking at them through our own eyes. God, on the other hand, considers the spirit in us that motivates our attitudes, words, and behaviors. His is a balanced consideration of the inward motives, intents, and dispositions. This is heavy stuff, what are we to do?
We need to look in the mirror . . . but, it must be the right mirror. In the New Testament, Hebrews 4:12 tells us that it is the only mirror with the power to show what we need to see. It reveals our spirit, our thoughts, our intentions, and our desires. In other words, it exposes who we really are and everything that needs fixing. James 1:25 tells us: “the one who continually looks into the perfect law of liberty, refusing to only be a hearer, but rather acts on what he or she has heard, this person’s actions will be blessed.”
Now, I cannot fix the bare patch on the back of my head, even though I know about it. But I can fix my sour attitude, my controlling spirit, my procrastination . . . well the list is too long to relate here. You get the idea. These are aspects of me that I can change because I am looking in the mirror.
Dear Father, thank you for the mirror of your Word. Empower us to be active in obeying your Word. Deliver us from only being hearers. Grant that we may possess the spiritual fortitude to persevere. In the name of Jesus I pray. AMEN
Be encouraged today in the power of his Word,