MEASURING OURSELVES

November 19, 2015

The devotional today stated that a poll showed that most people think highly of themselves, with many answering that they are actually better people than what others think of them, or how they are actually doing.

While it is beneficial to our self-esteem and encouraging to think of ourselves as capable of rising up from where we are now, and of doing greater things, that is only one side of the coin.  We actually have to work and be the kind of person worthy of those great things.

Maybe this is the reason why some people I know could be so double-standard in requiring that the rest of the world cater to their ideals, while they themselves gladly compromise when put in an inconvenient spot.  Then too, there are people who are so fundamentally fatalistic and firmly religious in upholding their beliefs, and yet will not hesitate to utter harsh and insulting words to others or inflict violence on people who do not share their convictions.

I guess we really have to do a reality check every now and then, and abide by the Apostle Paul’s admonishment to look at ourselves clearly like in a clean mirror.  And a Christian would not be remiss in realizing that it is only with GOD’s Word that we can see ourselves as to who we really are.  But other faiths have their great books too, and from what is impressed on me, I believe these books are canons that guide a person in righteous living.

Maybe this is the reason why every testimony should stand on the words of at least two witnesses.  Measuring ourselves is never realistic, as there will always be the ulterior motive to present ourselves well to others, as it is the key to a natural human instinct for survival.  Hence, we need other people—true friends and family who truly care about us, and the laws and codes we live by—to make us see ourselves for who we really are.