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“We suffer from poor I-sight.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 71). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

That is the truth.  Max says, “Not eyesight, a matter of distorted vision that lenses can correct, but I-sight. Poor I-sight blurs your view, not of the world, but of yourself.” 

He goes on, “Some see self too highly. Maybe it’s the PhD or pedigree. A tattoo can do it; so can a new truck or the Nobel Peace Prize. Whatever the cause, the result is the same. ‘I have so many gifts. I can do anything.’” 

He then says, “And don’t we also know the other extreme: ‘I can’t do anything’?  Forget the thin air of pomposity; these folks breathe the thick, swampy air of self-defeat. Roaches have higher self-esteem. Earthworms stand taller. ‘I’m a bum. I am scum. The world would be better off without me.’”

And have you at one time felt each of these poor I-sights?  “Two extremes of poor I-sight. Self-loving and self-loathing. We swing from one side to the other. Promotions and demotions bump us back and forth. One day too high on self, the next too hard on self. Neither is correct. Self-elevation and self-deprecation are equally inaccurate. Where is the truth?”

And Max answers his own question.  He says, “Smack-dab in the middle. Dead center between ‘I can do anything’ and ‘I can’t do anything’ lies ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ (Phil. 4:13). Neither omnipotent nor impotent, neither God’s MVP nor God’s mistake. Not self-secure or insecure, but God-secure—a self-worth based in our identity as children of God. The proper view of self is in the middle.”

He then asks and answers another question you might have, “But how do we get there? How do we park the pendulum in the center? Counseling? Therapy? Self-help? Long walks? Taking Lucado out to dinner? Advisable activities, but they don’t compare with God’s cure for poor I-sight: Worship.”

He continues, “Worship can happen every day in every deed. We can make a big deal about God on Sundays with our songs and on Mondays with our strengths. Each time we do our best to thank God for giving his, we worship. ‘Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering’ (Rom. 12:1 MSG). Worship places God on center stage and us in proper posture.”


So would you do your best to take care of your poor I-sight today?

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