Who do you see?

Lil Wayne is on top of the world of pop culture. By that standard, he is at the pinnacle of success. He embodies the concept of "young money". Most of his lyrics promote self and the values of a culture focused on self. But now, like so many successful people before him, he is pulling back the curtain for the world to see what he really thinks of himself. And even if it is just for a moment, it sheds a lot of light on the folly of this world's values. Here are some of the lyrics of his recent hit "Mirror":

I see the blood in your eyes
I see the blood in disguise
I see the pain hidden in your pride
I see you’re not satisfied
I see the truth in your lies
I see nobody by your side
I see the guilt beneath the shame
I see your soul through your windowpane
I see the scars that remain
I see you Wayne

So often, we see men and women reach the top and discover it is not what they thought it would be. Their success only highlights the emptiness we all feel when we pursue idolatry. We look in the mirror and we cannot hide the truth. When you look in the mirror, who do you see?

Jesus offers us a different value system - one in which all of His children have worth. Our worldly success does not matter to Jesus. He has always seen us for who we really are. He knows the guilt, the shame, and the pain. He doesn't want us to be enslaved to those things. We can embrace the identity we try to make for ourselves, or we can accept the identity that God creates for us. Then the question becomes, "Who does God see?"

Leadership

‎"My own conviction is that the flesh is still so strong in the Christian leader that each of us needs a healthy fear of our own capacity for ruining the work of God with our unconscious pride...a pastor really needs to be broken before God every day, or he will break up the church of God with his willfulness or let it slip into spiritual death through his sloth." - Jack Miller

I've been focusing a lot on the concept of leadership the last few months and I'll confess I'm overwhelmed by the things I'm reading, including all the Scripture devoted to the idea. I've thought of myself as an enthusiastic, self-starter. In reality, I'm probably more over-zealous at times than I should be and prone to work in my own strength, which is not the mark of a good leader. I added the following two verses to my computer's desktop. They will be the first thing I see each day before I start work.

Exodus 18:18 "You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone."



2 Corinthians 4:5 "For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake."


I was reminded by an article that Jesus did not die to make me a great leader and pastor, but to make me His son. That is always more than enough! May he give me the grace to be patient, encouraging, humble, and better at listening - and none of it for my glory!