Sober Judgment

How do you see yourself? (No, "In a mirror, of course" is not the kind of answer I am looking for.) There are some of us who see ourselves as really hot stuff. Maybe it's appearance. Maybe it's skills or talents. Maybe it's income. Maybe it's a conglomeration. But we're really something. There are some of us who see ourselves as miserable failures. We can't do nothin' right. We're ugly and our mothers dress us funny. Everyone hates us. We might as well go and eat worms. (I love Rodney Dangerfield's line. "I told my dad, 'Everyone hates me.' He told me, 'Don't say that! Not everyone has met you yet.'") But I suspect, for the majority, there is a mixture. In our eyes we are good at some things and bad at others. There are some things we have mastered and some that defeat us every time. Very few human beings are actually on one end or the other of the spectrum.

Here's the thing. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9). It is my suspicion that however you see yourself, it's likely not accurate. We tend to expand on our strengths and minimize our weaknesses or plunge into the depths of our weaknesses and minimize our strengths. We tend to do so at various times, depending on mood, circumstances, and other influences. Sometimes we might see ourselves as capable, likable, darn good folks. Other times we might see ourselves as "the worst of all sinners". At almost no time are we actually accurate in our assessment.

It is said that you are how you see yourself. No, no, others say that you are not as you see yourself, but as others see you. Still others say that you are not as you see yourself, but as you see how others see you. Oh, it's all very confusing. Paul said, "I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned" (Rom 12:3). "Sober judgment" -- that's the call. I suspect that sober judgment -- on both ends of the spectrum -- is often the lack as well.

I suspect that when you think, "Hey, I'm really good at that", you're not likely as good as you think. I suspect that when you think, "I'm just a miserable failure at that", you're not as bad as you think. Most of the time we are comparing ourselves with others around us ... and that's a really poor standard to use.

Every human being is unique. I think, however, that we are, on one hand, far more unique than we realize, but, on the other hand, not for the reasons that we think we are. For instance, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man" (1 Cor. 10:13). I bet that most of us think that we are unique in some of our struggles and failures. The Bible disagrees. The same is true with strengths.

Many of us suffer from "poor self-esteem". I despise the term. "Self-esteem" refers to the value one places on one's self. There is no point in that. The only value that matters is the real value and our estimation is irrelevant there. The truth is that most of us suffer from "poor self-image". We do not rightly examine ourselves. We tell ourselves lies. We tell ourselves "I'm the best there is" or "I'm the worst there is" and both, typically, are lies. "Sober judgment" -- that's the call.

For those of you who suffer from a sense of failure, rest assured that your senses are failing you. "The heart is deceitful above all things." For those of you who think "I'm God's gift to the world", you can be equally confident that you're likely mistaken. "The heart is deceitful above all things." "Sober judgment" -- that's the call. We are not called to evaluate ourselves in relative terms. We are called to examine ourselves to see if we're in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). If you are good at something, thank God. If you lack, ask God. But dwelling on your positives or negatives will simply distract you from where you need to go.