Looking at Ourselves in the Mirror
Every morning I look at myself in the mirror. It is not always a pretty sight. Perhaps God knew what he was doing by allowing eye sight to fade as one ages. That way we don’t have to look at all the flaws, the splotched skin, the receding hair line, the graying, the drooping, and the wrinkling. I’m better off if I don’t bother to put my glasses on. At least that way I don’t have to look at all the blemishes and imperfections.
Yet, if I didn’t put my glasses on and stare intently at my reflection every morning I would look worse than I do normally. Seeing my reflection allows me to correct those things I can correct. It allows me to shave my whiskers (that are half dark and half gray). Looking into the mirror allows me to make sure my hair is combed and there are no wild hairs growing in places where hair is not supposed to grow. Examining my reflection prevents me from going out in public with dirt on my face or my shirt on backwards (remind me to tell you the story a friend of mine who once did that accidentally).
Our reflection tell us important things about ourselves. It shows us what needs to be fixed or what is already looking good. Some people look in the mirror every morning and don’t have to do much at all to themselves–they look great from the start. Don’t you hate people like that. As we look at our reflection, we realize that there is only so much we can fix. I can’t change the fact that I have a receding hairline. I can’t change the shape of my head or the fact that I have no earlobes (When I tell people that, all they want to do is stare at my ears). We can only fix so much and the rest we must accept as who we are.
In recent days, I’ve been thinking about another kind of mirror we must all look into regularly. It is the mirror of other people’s eyes. Each of us reflect back to other people who they are. We point out their character flaws; we let them see their own beauty through our reactions and words to them; we help others see what needs to be fixed and what needs to be left alone. Too often, I don’t want to look in these mirrors. I don’t want to see how others perceive me because I’m afraid of the flaws that are there. I hold on to the silly notion that if I don’t look, then I must be okay. We don’t do that for our physical appearance. Why do we think it will work for our character appearance?
Like the mirror in our bathroom, the mirror in other people’s eyes simply reflects back what is there. I need to look. I need to listen to what people say to me and how they perceive me. I need to pay attention to how they respond to me and act toward me. These words and actions reflect my character. They help me see who I am.
As with my physical appearance, I can straighten and change many things about my character if I only take the time to see what needs to be changed. On the other hand, there are some things about my character that just are. Like my non-existent earlobes, some character issues are not changed so easily. Some things about my character I must accept and embrace as me even if others tend to find them strange and want to stare.
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