[346 words]
“Oh, how horrible our sins look when they are committed by someone else!” — Chuck Smith.
It’s so hard to keep our eyes on ourselves rather than to compare ourselves with others, isn’t it? We CAN be too hard on ourselves as we live in a world where it’s normal to compare ourselves with everyone else. On the flip side, our perception of others can also be distorted by our culture of comparison.
We struggle to look at ourselves and others through God’s viewpoint, so we often undervalue ourselves, and judge others too harshly. The book of James hits on this idea in chapter 2 where we find stern warnings about judging by appearances, and are encouraged to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
James wrote: “For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there, or sit down at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (Jas 2:2-4). When we forget that all people: rich, poor, black, white, male, and female were made in the image of God, we might judge in this same way. But the truth is, God would have us love each other and see each other as equals. We should pray for God to instill in us His love for others—in addition to asking Him to help us see ourselves the way He sees us, too.
When we commit the sin of favoritism (Jas. 2:9), we are robbing ourselves and others of the joy that we experience every day when God and others love us in spite of our flaws. Every person would like to change something about himself or herself, yet there is someone who still loves each of us. Give that gift to yourself and those around you.
Darrell Powell
Walnut St. church of Christ
Greenville, AL