I've not blogged much recently, busy with Uni, away from computers, sick. But my thoughts have been many and varied. The whole question about diversity has been on my mind, partly because of my Ethnicity paper, partly because of Amy's blog, partly because of my own personal struggles and thoughts. It is amazing that the world is full of completely unique people, no two the same.
Me and Amy have been talking about how much we compare ourselves to other people, and how that is always in a negative light. I wish I were thin, or more quiet or more serious...I look at people who are those things and hold them up for comparison with myself. The key step in life is to STOP doing this, and to accept that you differ from them in a myriad of visible and invisible ways. Amy and I are two very unique and different people with unique and different gifts. If I compare myself to her I feel crap about myself, and if she compares herself to me...well okay she probably feels fantastic but hey! You get what I am saying here.
Once I stop comparing myself to her (and so setting her up as an idol in my life) I can focus on who I am, and how God made me. The other end of the continuum is the same - that I see myself as right and everyone else as wrong. I am PASSIONATE about ending poverty, and some people just aren't. But I have to simultaneously accept myself as I am, and them as they are. It's great I care about those things, and its great they don't because then they are free to care about things I don't really consider. You see? It all fits together.
So, you can see that pride and low self esteem are two ends of the same continuum. It's all just not seeing ourselves as God sees us. When we can balance these two extremes, we are free. Free to live out our lives as God has called us to, and to enable and encourage others to live out theirs. Free to move into the better and deeper things God calls us too.
1 comment:
Sharyn, here's a little something for you.
SonicFlood, Unified
(lyrics here)
From the outside looking in,
A strange family in the world.
One source, one final goal.
One body, but not yet whole.
Fallen short the glory above,
Yet raised by faith in a love.
All melting under the sun
Of our loving God's grace.
We are one body,
Of one spirit,
With one hope that carries us all.
One Son, one blood
Shed for the world,
One God, one faith
To which we are called.
Unified as one.
Fantastic song, have a listen if you find the "City on the Hill" multi-artist CD.
1 Corinthians 12:18-26
18But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
19If they were all one member, where would the body be?
20But now there are many members, but one body.
21And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
22On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;
23and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable,
24whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked,
25so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
26And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
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