Sunday 30 January 2011

It Really is all About Me!

Last night I came to a blindingly clear revelation: that it's really all about me. Before all my nay-sayers  start jumping up and down, let me explain myself.

Yesterday I read Romans chapter 2, in which Paul challenges the elite of Jewish society - those who should know better - to uphold God's law in themselves. This passage quickly becomes reminiscent of Jesus' injunction in Matthew 7 verses 1-5, where we are cautioned to not look for a "splinter" in our neighbour's eye, but to pay attention to the "plank" in our own.

And this is my point. When it comes down to it, God doesn't care about how we think Joe Bloggs is doing, or what we think of Susie Smith down the road's behaviour. Ultimately, he's concerned with me. Am I prepared to give up my hopes and dreams for his plans? Am I prepared to control my natural urges and desires to work for his instead? Am I prepared to follow the narrow path that leads to salvation - and thereby be a beacon of hope in a dark world?

What I think of those around me is immaterial. Instead of comparing myself to those around me, I must keep my eyes focussed on the goal - on Jesus. As the wonderful hymn says,

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
And look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.


Words by Helen H Lemmel, 1922

3 comments:

  1. If you mean negatively judging others, then I agree. But During His mortal ministry, Jesus Christ was asked which commandment was the greatest or most important. He answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

    I think that means that we need to be thinking about others a lot - about how to make life easier for others.

    I'm not religious anymore, but I was once, and I still believe that the most important task we have is to make the world a better place for others - human and not.

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  2. Hey, I am specifically focussing on how we judge others in this post, yes. I'm not at all trying to negate either the first or the second commandment. I think what this post is trying to say is that, unless there is a relationship with God as a foundation, one's relationship with those around one will always be clouded by one's own judgements and prejudices, instead of being driven by mercy and grace.

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  3. I agree that we need to be aware, all the time, of how we treat others, and to employ compassion - in our words, gestures, acts, and thoughts - at every possible moment.

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