***When I came back to Chicago nearly 3 years ago for my surgery, I started a blog as one place all family and friends could go to read updates on my health. I then realized it was also a way of promoting awareness. Shortly after that, I started a second blog, for the purpose of sharing my faith. As time went on, I became convicted about something.
It was wrong of me to separate the two, as my faith, Jesus, is the absolute reason for my strength in getting through this. I could not exclude Him from my health blog even if others suggested to do so. Thus, I started talking more about my faith on my main blog. Now, many times, it's more about Him than me, which is where I came up with the current title 'About Me, Not About Me'. This story may be about me, but really it's not about me, it's about Him. That old blog still sits out there no longer being used. So I decided over time I will begin to move those posts from there to here to have everything in one place.
In just beginning to read some of my first posts, I've realized the amount of work God has truly done in me. A lot of times we hate the journey and want to get to our next destination, but it is in that very journey that God molds you into who He created you to be. Enjoy each mile of your own journey and know that God is working through you if you let Him.***
Originally Posted: June 11, 2013
Better or Best
It has become more and more apparent to me how others talk to and treat another. It's astonishing actually. But in noticing others, it is a must that we examine ourselves. By changing ourselves, improving the way we talk and act, we will in return outwardly exist to better the lives of others. Ripple effect, or so that is the hope.
Why do we point the finger? Why are we SO quick to pass judgement on another, to blame another, to compete and be better than another? Why do we together discuss, more so gossip, about another's life instead of working on our own? Furthermore, why is it at another instead of inward upon ourselves? Why do we find the need to change everyone before changing the only person we actually have the power to change, ourselves?
I will focus in on one reason I feel this is...My thought is in the human realm we want to feel better and how do you get to the word better.. by comparing to something that is worse. For you can't have "better" without having "worse" just like you can't have light without having darkness. And so we resort to putting others down, whether intentional or not, in order to be at that "better" status. What does this come down to? Perhaps pride. We want to be proud, sitting atop this mountain of accomplishments saying "hey look what I did! look at me look at me!" even if just saying that to ourselves to make ourselves feel better. Even if that mountain is nothing more that a compilation of lies.
But that mountain of accomplishments beneath you- is it really an accomplishment? Is it a solid ground or base to stand on for the rest of your life? Think about it. You feel pride or accomplishment or "better" because you have a home, a car, a high paying job, "things." Guess what. Every single bit of that can be taken away in an instant. And then what do you have left? That mountain is nothing more than a little raise in flat ground that you can trip over. And trip over you will when you lose all that and realize you have no grounds to stand upon.
The mountain we should stand atop is the mountain of faith in Christ. Turn over pride to instead take on humbleness. Turn over all of those deadly sins in return for God's great blessings. Make that your mountain to stand on. God can raise you higher than any earthly matter. In losing you will gain and in gaining you are on the way to eternal life. There is no need to compare ourselves to another, to put down another, to compete against another. All we must do is turn ourselves over to Christ and instead of being "better" be the "best" we can be with His Spirit shining through us. The good news is we can all do this, we can all be our best version of ourselves. We can ALL be the BEST all at once!
We can all do this now. It doesn't matter if you're 16, 30, 60 or God bless you 100. You still have the opportunity to make your life what God intended it to be. As life goes on and the years go by we see it as less time, less opportunity, no point in starting now or starting over. But there is every reason to, right now no matter what your age, no matter what the time, no matter anything. Everything is on God's time and since God is forever, I don't think time affects Him the same way it does us. He'd love for you to turn to Him no matter what and no matter when. He'd love for you to express your sins, ask for forgiveness and trust in His Son Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. In being human, we all sin, but we are given this amazing blessing of forgiveness if we can just hand over that pride and say let Your will be done Lord. There is no better time than now, for now is the only moment we know we have.
So, stop competing, stop hurting others, stop pointing the finger, stop judging, stop gossiping, stop anything that is putting others down instead of raising them up. Then work on raising yourself up in Christ. And when others do these hurtful things to you, forgive them for they know not what you know now. Love them anyways. Pray for them.
There are six things the Lord hates—
no, seven things he detests:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
18 a heart that plots evil,
feet that race to do wrong,
19 a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord in a family.
Proverbs 6:16-19
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