Have you ever read a book and just wish it would not
end? I just finished reading the Hobbit for the first time and I was intrigued
throughout the entire book. I came to embrace many of the characters and have
several moments that I was cheering for
their success, however; there were a few times in the book that I was let down
by character flaws. I was disappointed in a decision that was made or an attitude
that was projected, because I knew that the outcome was not going to be for the
best. I wanted the best for the characters that I had grown so fawn of in the
story. There was an instance in the book where one of the main characters was
letting pride and greed fog his better judgment. It was this lapse in judgment
that affected not only him but many of the people around him as well. In the end there was redemption, but at what
cost?
I think one of the greatest tools that we possess
and grossly under-use is the ability to self-examine ourselves. I was never big
Michael Jackson fan, but I do recall that one of his greatest songs was Man in
the Mirror. The chorus went, “I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror…I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways…And
No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer…If You Wanna Make The World A Better
Place…(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)…Take A Look At Yourself, And…Then
Make A Change.” I wonder how many of our problems could be solved if we started
within our own self? My day should start and finish with the question to myself
of what could I have done different today in who I was to those around me? Or,
Did I make a difference today to those that I am around? I am confident that each
day I will discover something new about myself that needs improved upon.
This morning we had
communion at the church my family attends in Costa Rica and I was reminded of the
importance of examine myself before I took part in this spiritual union. I Corinthians
11:28-29 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of
that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and
drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning
the Lord's body. This idea of self-examination helps to clear up those places
in our lives where we might have a lapse of judgment or clouded thinking.
There is another tool that is also underused: the
ability to accept council for the things that we are doing wrong. For the most
part, folks don’t like to be told how to live or what to do. We are told to mind
our own business or play the scripture card of Matthew 7, “Judge not lest ye be
judged.” In continuing to read the story that Jesus is telling, he goes on to
say first take the plank out of your own eye so that you can remove the sawdust
from your brother’s eye. It’s ok to remove the sawdust, but it comes first from
self-examining my own self. My hope is that I am humble enough to accept judgment
and examine myself without this idea that I have somehow obtained the ability of
perfection.
Back to the Hobbit: As a reader, it was easy to see
the flaws of the characters. It was also interesting to see how unlikely people
were trying to show one dwarf his error and how that dwarf was clouded in his judgment.
My hope is that in this story that I am in (called life), that God will give me
the grace and wisdom to accept that I am flawed and that He has placed people
on this earth to hold me accountable to my clouded judgment. So tomorrow when I
wake up, I’m starting with the man in the mirror.
