I'm Starting with the Man in the Mirror

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.