Galatians 6:3-5, 7-10 – “If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load…7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (NIV)
I start my days with two mirrors. I first look in God’s mirror, the Bible, to see where I need to sharpen up in my spirit to better reflect His heart and character. I then look at my physical appearance after showering, to make sure I’m not going to be distracting people from hearing me due to weird hair or eye boogers. God is teaching me there is a third mirror I need to pay better attention to as well; other people I’m consistently interacting with.
When I’m not getting positive responses from others, I usually have a level of responsibility to own. My spouse, children, friends, and co-workers are often responding to me from a place of what I am giving to them. We all have blind spots, and God often uses those closest to us to reflect back to us things we otherwise would not see and be able to deal with. I’m not communicating clearly enough, or I’m not pursuing them with the right questions to get to root issues. Perhaps I’m not serving their needs in a way that they would want to serve my needs. This is not always the case, but more often than we would like to admit, it is the case.
I have found that when I’m not emotionally and physically healthy, or when I’m living with a sin, I have a lot of problems with others and what they are not doing right. When I am living disciplined and in step with the Holy Spirit, everyone around me starts looking better too.