Who Are You?

And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. So don’t fool yourselves. For if a person just listens and doesn’t obey, he is like a man looking at his face in a mirror; as soon as he walks away, he can’t see himself anymore or remember what he looks like. But if anyone keeps looking steadily into God’s law for free men, he will not only remember it but he will do what it says, and God will greatly bless him in everything he does.

James 1:22-25

Let me ask you a personal question....when people see you, are they seeing the same you that others see?  Yes, we all have our "in public" face, but shouldn't that be pretty close to the same face we show in private?

I heard a story about a country boy who met a salesman trying to sell him a pig.  The salesman just talked continuously for almost an hour.  Finally, the country boy reached up and started walking around the salesman.  Undeterred, the salesman kept up with his sales pitch. Finally, the country boy reached up and started feeling the salesman's teeth.  The salesman jumped back and said, "What on earth are you doing?" The country boy walked around him again and said, "I'm trying to figure out which pig I'm supposed to be interested in."

When we act one way in public and the opposite in private, what are we?  If others saw how we acted in private, would their opinion of us change?  Would we have reason to be ashamed?  God created us for a reason and with the ability to reason, let us be who God made us. 

Change Begins In The Mirror!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

I'm not a huge fan of change.  In fact, I will say that there are some changes that will meet great resistance from me.  For example, over the last 12 weeks, I have been working on a program through the insurance company, that was supposed to help me do a better job with my eating habits and my exercise habits.  And I will tell you, I hated every minute of it.

My eating and exercise habits have become ingrained over the course of YEARS, because I like what I like and I dislike what I dislike.  I tend to stick with the things I like and am not very open to changing that. However, through this program, I have begun to open up (somewhat) to making minor alterations (not "changes" but alterations) to my habits.  For example, I have learned that there are some vegetables that I actually like, and should be eating them with more frequency.  I have learned that Citrus Beer does NOT count as a fruit! That humus on really is rather tasty.  Also eating an entire pizza should not be something I strive to achieve.

The same thing applies when dealing with people.  Yes, there are some people who are like asparagus to me and, thus, I will avoid them as much as possible.  But there are people who, once they facades have fallen, are some of the most incredible people ever.  And there are some people who can only be taken in small amounts.  But there are also people who think the same way about me.

If I have habits that are bad or unhealthy, perhaps I should consider making changes.  We want changes in our society...then we must begin with the face we see in the mirror.  We cannot expect or demand from others what we are unwilling to do.

Change.....TRUE Change begins with us!