“My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if someone comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes, do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives?” (James 2:1-5)
There is a false-self that tries to control, I would dare to say, everyone in this country. It is the false-self that tries to convince each of us that we are what we do. Does that ring a bell that resonates in you? Do you have a false-self that convinces itself that it is what it does? That is one of the primary identifiers in this country. You are what you do. Go to where to strangers are meeting each other and eaves drop on their conversations for 30 seconds. What do they ask each other? What do you do? Not only do we identify ourselves by what we do but we identify others by what they do.)
Hence the more someone does, achieves, and experiences, the more real the false-self becomes. All sin starts from the assumption that my false self, the self that exists only in my egocentric desires is the fundamental reality of life to which everything else in the universe is ordered. So I use up my life in the desire of pleasures, and thirst for experiences, for power, honor, knowledge, and love to cloth this false-self and construct its nothingness into something that is objectively real. And I wind experiences around myself, cover myself in pleasures and glory like bandages, in order to make my self acceptable to myself and to my world like I was an invisible body, that could only become visible when something visible covered its surface.
Tdoay is Labor Day. It is always the first Monday in Sept. Labor Day. The Government web sight: states Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Work is Important. Working is Biblical. There are many passages in the Old and New Testament on working, earning your wages, being self sustaining, not being lazy…ect. I have always been a hard worker. I got that from my dad. I function best at 110% of capacity. In most of the world, if you don’t work, you go hungry and end up homeless. But as important as working and your job is, and how much time you send at your job. Your work does not define you. It is not who you are. It is not what identifies you.
Especially in America where we so value titles, celebrities, status, people who make lots of money. America is where the first thing we ask each other is “What do you do?
Two men came into a church dressed the same, both neat and well groomed. In a conversation you ask them “What do you do?” One man says he sucks the human waist out of Porta-potties, cleans and maintains them.. The other man says he is a neuro surgeon, or the Mayor of Huntsville. You are going to use that info to identify them and “rank them.”
“My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if someone comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes, do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives?” (James 2:1-5)
However our false-self this is not who we are. It is a False-self. This is an ego centric self, trying to put forth position or importance that can only give us false peace, and false security in our identity. Because it separates us from God. “the false self stand between the true self and God”
Look at those, celebrities” who’s identity were in their doing and materialism: Robin Williams, Michael Jackson, Prince…they had the titles, they had the wealth, they had the materialism, they had the ultimate false self. But they were miserable, had anxiety and depression, and died
I have a brother who committed suicide. My brother’s suicide at its core was because his false egotistical self that took over his life. He wanted and sought after his experience and pleasures. Drugs helped him create and re-structure his reality. Another woman besides his wife is what his false-self needed to cover himself with. Providing materials things for his family, the other woman, having materials things: home, cars, was how he identified himself, so when he failed at providing them, that identity was taken away from him, to him he was nothing, no good to anyone, and better off dead.
My brother put his identity in his false-self and separated himself from God. So when all that made up his false-self was taken away, He was left with nothing but his own nothingness and for the false self which claims to be everything, such a discovery would be his undoing.”
This sin was as the beginning of the fall of man. Adam and Eve, egocentrically wanting their own experiences, own identity as eaters of the fruit, and this sin separated themselves from God.
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground,” (Genesis 3:19) The Hebrew word for “Sweat” in this verse does not mean physical sweat. It means sweat from anxiety, fear, stress
Are you in the top 1% of family income in the world? Those families making $32,400 or more a year are in the top 1% of family income in the world. Making $32,400 or more means you are making more money than 99% of families in the world makes. I would dare to say almost everyone reading this reflection is in the top 1% club. It’s a reminder of just how prosperous developed countries are compared to the vast majority of other people who share our planet.
We are the in the top 1% income wise, so why are we all so anxious, fearful, stressing, (by the sweat of our brows) making ends meet?
Everyone I talk to.stresses over the bills they have to pay, financial situations, if/when I can retire…ect. And we are all in the top 1%! America is in the top 1%, one of the highest income countries in the world yet we are also the country that is highest in depression, anxiety, suicides, bankruptcy, divorce….
It is because of this false-identity we place ourselves in.
My family, I pray gracious loving God, that those reading this recognize that we live in a false-self culture in which one of the primary identifiers is “we are what we do.” Lord from your words we know we are not what we do, we are what you speak forth for us to be. We don’t find our identity in our false-self but our true self in who God spoke us to be. That we are not primarily human “doings” we are human “Beings” who find their true identity in you and you alone. Lord help us divest ourselves of all the trappings of the false self, that we may find ourselves in you, our true self, hid in Christ with you. This we ask in the name of the father son and spirit, amen. Please pray this for me as well. God bless you my friends!
