BEAUTY TIP #35 – Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Posted: February 18, 2011
January is an insane month in the gym; people are falling all over each other in the cycling classes, racquet ball court, on the cardio machines and pumping iron. There is a tension and a determined resolution to get in shape and become a “new you” after the Christmas over-indulgence. I can only surmise that many of those people looked in the mirror on January 2nd and were horrified at what they saw. With their new runners and their fancy new Adidas bag, they are off to the gym to make that much needed dramatic change.
It is only February 18th and right now you can shoot a canon in the gym and you wouldn’t hurt anyone. What happened to all the enthusiastic people who wanted their new bodies? I can just imagine the language in their head, “I had no idea it would be such hard work; I’m too busy for this; I’ll do it tomorrow; I’ll come back once my life settles down; I’ll start again when…..”
Reshaping our bodies is hard work; I am not going to diminish the severity of it. If we want more muscle tone, less fat and be able to smile at our body when we look in the mirror, we have to make some bold choices.
In the same way, if we want our soul to flourish and become beautifully defined and radiant from the inside out, we also have some tough work ahead of us. This work is being obedient to God’s word in the bible; and not just reading them or listening to them, but actually doing them. God tells us to obey His word because He wants us to be on a pathway toward the greatest freedom and joy we will ever experience.
God wants us to be the kind of people who make a bold choice and follow through with it even when times get tough. He does not want us to be deceived in thinking we get our freedom and joy without being obedient to how He wants us to live.
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:22-25).
Did you see that word “deceive?” That word means to lie to ourselves, con, cheat, delude hoodwink or trick ourselves into thinking we can become beautiful, strong Christians without obeying God’s truths. When we make a bold choice to reshape our bodies or souls, we have to:
- Stay consistent. Don’t sign up for the gym in January and drop out by February. Don’t set your alarm to meet with God for 3 days and then stop when you decide you’re too tired.
- Don’t wait for “the perfect time.” It hardly ever shows up.
- Do it even when you don’t feel like it.
- Ask God to help you.
- Ask friends to keep you accountable.
- Make a date with yourself on your blackberry or i-phone and let nothing interrupt that meeting with God.
- The last line in that verse says, “…they will be blessed in what they do.” Do you want your life and body to be a blessing? Stay consistent.
If I want anything to change in my life, I have to make a BOLD CHOICE and stick with it even when life gets hard. It will raise my self-esteem, my confidence and bring me joy and freedom in a way I could never have imagined. Be Bold my friend-do not be deceived!
