Saturday 15 April 2023

Psalm 149

Background

The spiritual advice of theologian Thomas Merton about my ‘false and true self’ has always confused me. He challenges me to be my ‘true self’. I felt the need to strive for my ‘true self’, which is the opposite of what he means. The penny dropped when I realised that the real me is, in fact, me; the person I am made to be. It isn’t an ideal I must struggle to obtain, but rather I need to discover and accept the complicated person that I am: broken and sinful but also made in the image of God. 

The 'false me' is all the stuff I do to convince myself and others that, despite appearances, I’m OK. My longing for the approval of others and my striving to impress and shine are all my inventions. They are constructs, designed to cover up what I feel is a far from shining or approvable self. The irony is obvious, I am trying to hide all the gold of my best self with the fool’s gold of a false self (Luke 9:23, Galatians 2:20). 

The real person is created in God’s image and is therefore truly wonderful. Of course, we are sinful, but no sin can finally destroy what God has made. I may be hurt but I am not a broken person. Life may have been hard on me, but I don’t have to be a victim, I can choose to let all this go. (There is more on this theme in Holocaust survivor Edith Eger's book ‘The Choice’). 

Reading this passage from Colossians gives an insight into just how extraordinary and wonderful human beings are (v. 12). These are your garments!  Put them on! You are entitled to them as a king to his crown. CS Lewis wrote in ‘The Weight of Glory’: "The dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship." This is you – your true self!

To Ponder:

•  What do you see when you look in the mirror?
• Where do you see your false self getting in the way?
• What does ‘life in abundance’ mean for you today?