Mirror, mirror, on the wall.....

Mirror, mirror, on the wall….

     Mirror, mirror, on the wall….

      Narcissus’ total obsession with himself was the eventual cause of his self-destruction.  This self-absorption is the primary characteristic of the prevailing worldview in the western world.  The intense focus on self causes us to lose touch with the actual reality around us.  Instead of looking for the truth behind observable reality, we look for truth within ourselves.  It’s like trying to fix a blemish on our face by applying the solution to the image we are seeing in the mirror. 

The world around us, the external reality, becomes a reflection instead of a reality.  We use reality in an attempt to define who we are.  Reality’s profound truth is diminished to a self-serving tool to help us discover ourselves.  Clothing no longer is used to keep us warm or to provide us with covering so much as it is used to define who we are.  We become what we wear.  The car we drive is no longer simply a means of transportation, it defines us.  Our relationships are no longer about others. Rather, they are all about us, about me.  We define ourselves by living through the one we are dating or are married to.  Thus, the real becomes an image to gives us back reflections of ourselves.

When truth and substance are no longer elements of reality, reality becomes simply a mirror and we pervert it to try to force it to tell us we are “fairer than them all”.

In these modern times, our ‘self’ is totally dependent upon our circumstances.  We look to others and to stuff to reflect back to us an image of who we are.  But, were we not all born in the image of God?  Our only hope of actually knowing self is to look to Christ for an accurate reflection of who we are.  When we see the reality of our sinfulness against his holiness it is most sobering and causes many to seek repentance from the sin that has caused such darkness to take abode in the deeper parts of the soul.  

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.

Our Problem With Narcissm

We cannot understand ourselves by looking at our own reflection.  This obsession with self leads to destruction. (Read the story of Narcissus)  We can only understand ourselves and our purpose in life by recognizing that we are but a reflection of Him in whose image we were created.  The reflection itself is non-existent.  The person looking at you from the mirror every morning isn't really in the mirror.  

Narcissistic behavior is focusing on image, not reality.  Christ helps us solve our failure to connect with the reality in our lives by redirecting our focus from ourselves (the image) to Christ (the reality)  Our perception of reality is distorted by sin and this distortion becomes more and more twisted when we take our eyes off of the Source of reality.  When self-consciousness sinks into narcissism we lose touch with reality and live in a world we've created for ourselves.  This explains why so many in our culture have drifted so far from the truth of the living God.  When a Christian walks into a room of smiling people he thinks they are reflecting the joy of the Lord.  When a narcissist walks into a room of smiling people he thinks they are reflecting his own image, they are smiling for him.  In a sense, he is replacing God with himself.  It is self-worship.  It is pride, something God hates deeply.

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.

Open Letter to Lance Armstrong

Open letter to Lance Armstrong

Lance, 

So many admired you for all your great cycling accomplishments and multitudes were disappointed to learn your achievements were tainted with cheating. But, Americans are a forgiving people and most will eagerly accept your apology.

We who are Christ-followers have all been where you are, Lance. We have all sinned and fallen short of the expectations of God. Running to Oprah to record a national apology is futile if your apology is meant to rebuild your lost reputation. True repentance must be accompanied by pure motives. Trying to cleanse yourself in Oprah's dirty pool of therapy will not bring peace to your soul. It’s like trying to clean our hearts with dirty water taken from our hearts.

Your rush for therapy is a microscopic revelation of what is really wrong with America. We have grown comfortable seeking therapy from humans who are just as fallen as we are. The greatest sin in America today is the idea that we can come to repentance without a Mediator, the belief that repentance has no personal cost or sacrifice and that we can be converted to Christianity without the shedding of blood.

Lance, true forgiveness that will bring closure to your sin of dishonesty and relief and comfort to your soul will come from Christ, not Oprah. Seek him while you still can.

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.