The
other day I found a meditation which I would like to share with you.
When
Ahab saw [Elijah], he said, “So there you are—the worst troublemaker in
Israel!” (1 Kings 18:
16b) Why do we find it so easy to look for the cause of our troubles
outside ourselves? Playing the blame game is a common tendency. Even though
King Ahab “sinned against the Lord more than any of his predecessors,” (1
Kings 16:30), he blamed the prophet Elijah for his problems. It’s true
that sometimes the actions of others cause us harm, but it is also true that
when we’re feeling guilty or our own self-esteem is on shaky ground, our
egos—seeking self-preservation—point the finger elsewhere. We think, “Well, I
may have done X, but look at what they’re doing. I’m not that bad.”
We
look at the wrongs of others—real or imagined—to feel better by comparison, but
comparing ourselves to others can also work against us. When people quietly go
about their own lives with integrity we can feel criticized by implication.
It’s as if their virtue shows us up and makes us feel shabby about ourselves.
When
we blame others for our problems, we get to feel better about ourselves
temporarily without having to take responsibility or clean up our own messes.
We fail to grow when we do that. Even if nobody else finds out, we know the
truth. In those moments of solitude when we have no one else to look down on,
we know that our poor choices and character flaws have contributed—at
least in part—to our own troubles. Once we become willing to acknowledge our
own mistakes and shortcomings, we have genuine hope for improvement.
Do
we want to continue to point the finger at others for the sake
of appearances or do we want to honestly look within, lovingly accept what
we find, and become willing to do something about our biggest enemy—ourselves,
so that we can grow? Do we want to look better or do we want to actually be
better?
Prayer:
Lord, may I trust your love enough to acknowledge my faults and seek help in
overcoming them.
Reflection:
How am I contributing to the problems facing me today?
--Enrique
Originally
written in Bible Meditations.net “Saturday Spotlight: Ahab”; available from http://www.biblemeditations.net/archives/1893
No comments:
Post a Comment