"For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was."
James 1:23-24 NASB1995
I know we used these two verses in the “Know Thy Self” post, and there are plenty of verses on self-control in the Bible where we shouldn’t need to repeat, but there was a point I was reminded of that I believe is too helpful to not circle back to these verses.
James 1:23-24 is teaching us to remember who God’s word teaches us to be. “Go out and be this Christian person by doing these Christians things that you have heard from the word of God.” However, that illustration of the mirror is useful in another sense as well. A mirror shows us who we are, not who we desire to be. Nowadays, images (pictures and/or video) function in like manner.
Reuters ran an article back in April of 2013 that detailed the story of Rutgers basketball coach, Mike Rice. A video was released of him berating and physically abusing the team. “Rice, 44, apologized for his behavior… ‘There’s no explanation for what’s on that film,’ he said. ‘There’s no excuse for it. I was wrong. And I want to tell everybody who’s believed in me that I’m deeply sorry...’” When we see ourselves on video, we can be aghast at our own behavior. Even though we know it is us in the video, we cannot recognize ourselves for our behavior. I’m glad Mike Rice took responsibility and accountability, but I know he would’ve felt much better if he had never lost control to begin with.
A mirror is a powerful tool that can help us to be better people. We often use the mirror to make our “appearance” better, but what about making our “person” better: our character? Parent Pro Tip: One thing I did with my kids when they were toddlers throwing a fit, a temper tantrum, an epic out-of-control toddler meltdown was to take them in the bathroom and give them the whoopin' of their life!!! No, not really. I took them into the bathroom, holding them in my arms, and just holding them to the mirror so they could see themselves. They hated it. They didn’t want to see themselves crying or wailing in the mirror. They would often (full disclosure: not always, but often) begin to calm down. They didn’t want to be who they saw in the mirror.
Like in the Mike Rice story, video (or pictures even) can work much the same way. They function as a mirror to show us who we are being. Using the wisdom of God, if we can see who we are when we lose control befoooooore we lose control (how sinful and ugly we are)… then that can help us to have self-control and never become that “monster”. The more our conscience is trained by the will and word of God, the more shame we would experience in “seeing ourselves” for who we are. The more likely we would be to prevent such behavior (thoughts/actions) within ourselves.
What are some ways “Seeing yourself in a mirror” can help you to have self-control? I’ll list some in the comments and then you feel free to participate with helpful examples as well. Let’s look in the mirror. We may not like what we see, but that can help us to change, to do better, to be better.
1. Anger - What if we saw ourselves angry and saying mean and hurtful things, or even being physically confrontational; would we like who we saw?
2. Lust - What if a guy has a problem looking at women? If he saw a picture of himself every time he was "checking out" women; would he be ashamed of himself? He might say, "I'm just looking. Not touching.", but what did Jesus say? (Matthew 5:27-28)
3. Gluttony - Not all obesity is gluttony (especially considering genetics and our Western diet), but sometimes it is. One effective tool weight loss programs use is to take a photo when you start the program. Why? It's not just so you can see your progress, but so that you can see who you were as motivation to keep going to be who you want to be.
4. Drunkenness/Alcoholism/Drug Abuse - Sometimes addicts hit bottom when they end up in a hospital. Oftentimes, it's when they finally "see" who they are when they are using/abusing. They can't recognize what they've become, and they know they need a change. The power of the mirror.
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