Goldfish

A story is told of a man whose children each won a goldfish from a carnival.  Not having anything to put them in... the man went to a local pet store for a tank.  As he walked past the expensive aquariums, a sale tag caught his eye.  Five dollars for a used fish tank.  Perfect.  He bought the obviously used and dirty tank and took it home for a good cleaning.  The fish looked beautiful swimming through the now clean glass.  Then they started dying.  One fish was gone by morning... one the next day... and the third?  It held on for two full days.  The man was confused... what had caused these fish to perish?  Then he remembered... when he cleaned the tank he had used soap.  A definite no-no.  Good intentions... bad way of carrying them out. 

Many times we treat our own lives the same way.  Things get dirty... polluted... difficult.. and instead of running to God’s Word to get things clean... we use far more abrasive and toxic methods.  We condemn ourselves and choose to become self-critical.  Before long, we start to believe that what we did defines who we will always be.  We see our stains as permanent and our errors as unforgivable...  And soon after, that dream inside our heart begins to die.   God has another way.  A safer way.  We need to allow Him to define us.  We call ourselves messed-up... God calls us masterpiece.  We say we’re cursed... God calls us blessed.  Ready to do some cleaning?  Don’t be harsh on yourself and abuse what Christ died for... allow His loving words about you to wipe away the smudges on your heart.  

Worth

Lee Dye, a columnist for ABC News, told a story about a rather interesting former colleague.   He said, “A reporter I once knew sashayed across the newsroom one day with his colossal ego draped across his chest, just as an old veteran mumbled, ‘I’d like to buy him for what he’s worth and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth.”

There’s a fine line between confidence and ego... in believing in yourself and believing yourself better than others.  And if left unchecked, we can begin to believe our own hype.  The Bible warns us against this in Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”   Scripture tells us to check our arrogance.... and if we feel the need to boast, we should choose to do so about God’s greatness and not our own.  Why?  It’s not because He has a desire for affirmation...He is far from insecure.  Instead, we should praise God because He is worthy of our praise.  He gives us everything... every talent, opportunity, and resource... why not take those same hands we use to pat ourselves on the back... and lift them toward Heaven praising the One who makes all things possible.