Trainer: Next exercise--deep standing push-ups. Let’s do 3 sets of 15.
Me: So are these going to give me chiseled arms like Lebron James?
Trainer: (Belly laughing) If I say yes, will you do an extra set?
Commercials and ads tell me I can be just like any number of folks if I buy this or do that. But why would I want to be like someone else, when God created me to be unique?
Our spiritual enemy lies, telling us our worth and value are tied to certain physical, emotional, mental, social or spiritual attributes. Most of us want to change something because we negatively compare ourselves to someone we admire.
I used to look around the gym, then look in the mirror and be flooded with body image accusations. I’d look around at social functions and kick myself for being an introvert because it was hard to interact. Church was a nightmare. Everyone I saw seemed to be a better Christian in so many ways. While in graduate school, I went to therapy to talk about how all the other counseling students seemed to be more emotionally stable than me!
Comparisons keep our eyes on the world instead of on God. So often my counseling clients say, “I don’t understand how God can love me, I’m such a mess!” They list all the ways they fail and miss the mark set by themselves, others, and supposedly God. My answer is, “Yes, you are a mess. But you’re a mess Jesus loved enough to die for, so now choose to live out who God created you to be!”
Having Lebron’s strong, muscled arms would look pretty silly on me. I’m choosing to do that extra set of push-ups because I want to be the healthiest Judy I can be. Keeping my eyes on God allows me to see myself through his heart and Jesus’ blood. Look up, not around!
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons via teamblue538.wikispaces.com
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