Yourself July 4, 2011 at 9:24pm BE YOURSELF. Mt. 16: 13-16 None of us can be the other, however much we have similarities, however much we love, trust each other. I can only be myself and you, yourself. The freedom to be yourself follows understanding, accepting and loving yourself, and embracing the newly discovered self. There is a beautiful story: One priest burst into tears on his deathbed. Asked why, the clergy responded: When I am read into the presence of God, he won’t ask me why I wasn’t Charles. After all, I’m not Charles. Nor will God ask me why I wasn’t Joe, because neither am I Joe. Why am I crying? Because God will ask, why on earth weren’t you Bonnie? This is the question that each person must answer. The road to be myself or you is not in trying blindly to follow the virtuous path of another’s footsteps, but in fullness to the acceptance of the uniqueness of the person that self- Knowledge has revealed. Little children learn by copying others. Unfortunately, many people continue to imitate others all their lives instead of being themselves and becoming the persons God created them to be. This does not mean that we should not seek to develop characteristics we admire in others, but these qualities must be real in us and not just a copy of some one else. St. Paul defines the goal of Christian life as becoming like Christ: “Become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. If you can think of anyone you would rather be than yourself you probably have a self-image problem. It is a great relief to know that you do not have to be anyone but yourself. This brings a sense of freedom. You do not have to copy anyone but can focus your energies on truly becoming the person God created you to be. Leaving to be yourself is expressed in this little poem: The Plum: You should learn that you cannot be loved by everyone. You may be the finest plum in the world. Ripe, juicy and succulent, delicious and offer yourself to all. But there will be some people who do not like plum You must understand that if you are the world’s finest plum. And someone you like doesn’t happen to like plums,You have the choice of becoming a banana. But you must be warned that if you chose to become a banana You will be a second-hand-rate banana. But you can always be the best plum. You must also realize, if you choose to be a banana, There will be some people who do not like bananas. Furthermore, you could spend your life trying to become the best banana, which is impossible, if you are a plum, OR You can seek again to be the best plum. CELEBRATE YOUR UNIQUENESS: Each one of us is an incredibly complex and wonderful creation. Even though there are about 5 million people in the world in which we live, and billions more who have lived and died, not one of them is exactly like you or me. You are special, right down to your fingerprints. You have your own genetic make-up and DNA pattern. Your voice and your handwriting can be identified as different from that of any one else. You have a unique personality, your own mix of emotions and talents and your own way of seeing life. It can be truly said: “when God made you, he broke the mould” The Greek playwright Sophocles in 5th century B.C. declared the human to be “the most wondrous of the world’s wonders: King David acknowledge both the Creator and the beauty of his creation, when he exclaimed: “For all these mysteries I thank you: for the wonder of myself for the wonder of your works.” or simply “I thank you Lord that I am wonderful”. Some years ago, King Ronald visited one part of his Kingdom. A ceramic artist was asked to create a Crested Crane bird, in a fine pottery to be presented as a gift to the King. Actually he made two of them, beautifully designed and identical. Then he smashed one in order to enhance the value of the other. This symbolic act meant that the gift to the King would be unique, the only one of its kind in the world. This is how God regards you. You are the only one in the world exactly like you. This enhances your value and worth to him. It also means that there is no one else in the world who can glorify God in precisely the same way as you can. He has a specific design for your life and as a distinctive task for you to do. You may not feel that you have arrived or finished, and hopefully you never will. God has not finished either with you or any of us yet. Each one of us is one of God’s unfinished master pieces. As we discover our uniqueness, then we can have confidence to be who we are. We no longer need to rely on others for our identity and worth. Uniqueness has very significant implications for Christians. If God has created each of us different from everyone else in gifting and personality, it follows that he has a special job for each to do. John Powell: A special piece of God’s truth has been placed in your hands, and God has asked you to share it in the rest of us. The same is true of me. And just as you are the one and only you, your truth can tell the world your truth or bestow on others your act of love. Only you have all the requirements to be and do what you are to be and do. WHO YOU ARE, NOT WHAT YOU DO. If you ask a young child, “What are you going to be when you grow up?” typical replies would be: A nurse, social worker, teacher. At a very early age we learn to equate what we are with what we do. Then at the other end of life, some people almost stop living when they retire or are unable to achieve any more. “Last year I was a bank manager ... now I am nothing”! What we are may determine what we do, but what we are is far than what we do. What we do affects who we are, but that is not who we are. I have come to understand that, most of us are human Doings, not human Beings! In God’s Kingdom, the rewards are not for achievements but for character. St. Paul said that even if he had the gifts of tongues, prophesy and knowledge, or died the death of a martyr, it would all amount to nothing if he were not a living person. 1 Cor. 13:1-3 Nothing can give a greater sense of self-worth than to allow one’s roots to grow and go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous Love Ep. 3:17 and to grow up in every way into Christ. Eph. 4:15. At the end of 30 years of BEING and not doing God said about Jesus: ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” Mt. 3:17. This is what God thought of him for who he was, before he had achieved anything significant in human terms. Never in the University, preached a sermon, performed a miracle, written a book or done anything outstanding. Cared for his widowed mother and family until at 30 he was a skilled carpenter. But he was a “nobody” from a remote village. God’s commendation of his son shows that who we are matters more to him than what we do. So our task is to truly BE who we are and to BECOME the people he created us to be. To rely on what we own or what we do for our senses of worth is the attitude of the world, which is completely opposite to God’s way. SPEAK FOR YOURSELF. Attitudes to ourselves can be revealed by the language we use. When we speak for ourselves we feel much better about ourselves, and other people will pay more attention to what we say. This is part of “being yourself”. People who wish to be themselves must clarify their language and speak for themselves. Speaking for yourself is a great help in learning to be yourself. But so often our language is either defensive or aggressive in response to what someone else says or does. ACT, DON’T REACT. Part of being yourself is determining to live as an ACTOR rather than a REACTOR. An actor in this sense means someone who takes the initiative, not someone who acts a part. ACTORS: Accept responsibility for their lives and take the initiative. They have clear values they wish to live by. They make decisions based on thought-out priorities rather than merely responding to what is urgent or expedient. They reach out to form relationship and will try to mend those that have been broken. REACTORS. Wait for things to happen before making decisions and usually watch things happen rather than make them happen. They tend to react to circumstances and situations negatively or defensively. Their lives are often filled with activity and routine to which they respond automatically. Reactors often feel caught up in the rat race; being driven rather than being in the driver seat. They often regard themselves as ‘victims’ in their relationships and powerless to make changes. Actors do not react to circumstances and situations, they respond to them pro-actively. Their responses come from choices they are making rather than being reflex actions over which they have no contact. For example, if actors are being abused, instead of reacting in kind and hurling abuse back, they can say to themselves: I’m bigger than this or nobody is going to determine my behaviour for me. They may not be in charge of the situation but they are in charge of themselves. Jesus behaved like this. 1Pet 2: 23. So did Paul 1Cor 4:12-13. Being an actor rather than a reactor does not come naturally to us but the Holy Spirit can develop this response in us. Probably all of us can identify with being a reactor at times. In our own experiences, we can certainly relate to this and we find that often we have to monitor what is happening in our lives: “Are we acting or reacting in this situation or in this relationship? The most effective way to become an actor is to build space into our lives, preferably each day, when we take time to evaluate what is going on. Time to be quiet, Time to pray, Time to meditate, Time to listen to what God is saying to us. Henri Nouwen puts it, When we believe that we are created in the image of God and come to realize that Christ came to reimage this, then meditation and prayer lead us to our true identity. We should involve God in the details of my life and this very decision to hand over my life to him is a positive action. God does not stop me from acting, he simply provides the strength and wisdom, need to be an effective actor. When I hand over life to Christ, he does not take over the driver’s seat; he becomes the “Navigator”. He gives me new energy Christ does not take away our initiative, but comes along side as our companion and guide. Conclusion: Summary: Becoming the person God created me to be is one way of describing the purpose for living. We have to learn how to express who we are authentically, both in our language and in our behaviour. This involves taking the initiative in life and being an actor rather than a reactor. Expressing who we are to the world takes courage. Who we are is God’s gift to us; who we become is our gift to God. Reflection: Spend some time rejoicing in your uniqueness and thanking God for making you the way you are. Are you an ‘Actor’ or a ‘Reactor’? Identify some times in the past few days when you have reacted to people rather than acting out of reality and integrity. Why do you think you behaved that way? How could you have acted differently? BONNIE.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 11:29:52 +0000
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