Have you ever noticed that the more beautiful someone thinks they are, the LESS beautiful they are? Or the less someone Thinks they are beautiful, or the more humble they are, the more beautiful they actually are. The Bible says that God hates pride and that he opposes the proud. We are made in God's image so I suppose that's also why we also hate pride.
For some reason though, many people love pride, or they think they do. They love feeling pride and they love people who are prideful. This is why people worship football players, artists etc. I have never understood that. Confidence is good, but pride is evil. Pride causes you to hurt others because you think you are better then them. I will say I have been guilty of this pride in posting too much stuff online about homosexuality. I am grossed out by the sin, but it's easy for me to judge it and hate because I know I would never in a million years be homosexual. But I can get prideful about that, knowing I would never struggle with it. It seems that if someone sins differently then us it's easy for us to jump up and judge them and feel prideful that we don't struggle in the way they do, but we fail to look at our own sins. Like pride over one's own beauty, self-righteous pride is just as ugly.
People can be prideful over lots of things. Having excessive amounts of money almost always makes people prideful. But having little money can make people selfish and greedy, which can get just as ugly.
That is why God likes to give us just enough of something so we can be content without being overly full of whatever he gives us. Most people have a few physical features that they are proud of but others they are insecure of. I think God does that to keep us humble. Like I have always been insecure about my need to wear glasses, and I always wished I could have a flat stomach, but that has always seemed to be impossible for me. But I like most of my other physical features.
This is why, for most of us, God gives us just enough, so that we will not become overly confident and forget him.
When the Israelites were in the wilderness God told them to gather just enough manna for each day. When Jesus said the Lord's prayer he said that we should pray for Just our daily bread. Why? Because God wants us to have just enough. If we have too little of anything we become scared and insecure. But if we have too much of something, we get prideful. So he gives us just enough.
I always wondered why God didn't give me better parents. I'm sure everyone has asked God that. But no parents are perfect, or can be perfect, no matter how hard they try to be. He gave me parents that were good enough so I wouldn't feel insecure, but with enough short comings to keep me humble.
The same was true of my two daughters. They were both pretty enough for me to be proud of them but they both were lacking in some way, I suppose to keep me humble as a parent. My oldest wasn't the smartest little girl and my youngest has something wrong with her feet so it hurts for her to walk or stand too much. But God did that for a reason, to keep me humble.
With everything in life, things that we have fall short of perfection, our parents or our kids and we are disappointed. Part of coping with life is learning to cope with the disappointments. Maybe your spouse isn't everything you wanted in a spouse. But hopefully they are good enough to keep you content. God always gives us things that are good enough to keep us from being insecure, but also not overly confident and prideful.
Like some men might have wives that are drop dead gorgeous, or a woman might have a gorgeous husband, but they aren't that smart. For some reason most people don't get Both beauty and brains. Or a man might have a smart wife, or a woman has a smart husband, but they aren't as attractive. But God gives us just enough so we can feel confident in our decision without being overly prideful.
This is why a lot of single people stay single for a long time. They are looking for someone absolutely perfect. They have this image in their heads of the perfect mate, but they never find that person because there is no one who is perfect. And they themselves don't deserve someone who is perfect because they aren't perfect. Their search for this perfect person is endless because they are never willing to settle, to deal with someone's shortcomings. Sometimes you have to just take whatever you can get. Or deal with being single for your whole life.
In college I heard a sermon where the pastor said we are all blue plate specials. Like in restaurants, if they are trying to get rid of food they might have a special on it, but it's food that isn't perfect. He said we are all like that. We all have flaws and none of us is perfect. We have to accept that about ourselves, that we are all blue plate specials, and when looking for a mate.
Compromise is key in life. The main cause of anger is when our expectations are too high, of ourselves or others. We expect, we want but we don't get it and it makes us angry. The key is to lower your expectations. Don't expect yourself or anyone else to be perfect. That would be impossible. Learn to deal with the imperfections of others, have patience with them, and then you will be angry a lot less. :)
And be grateful for what you have. Always remember, God gave you just enough to keep you from being insecure, but not too much so you wouldn't get overly prideful.
May God bless you!
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