With What Measure Do You Judge?

Interesting question isn’t it? You’re probably wondering where I am going with this, and I can surely say it’s not the route of judgment you may initially think of… it’s simply a question of perspective.

The word judge means ‘a person who decides the results of a competition, a person able or qualified to give an opinion on something, or to form an opinion or conclusion about’. At some point in our lives we all become a judge, whether this be of a person, situation or circumstance; etc, we all form an opinion (a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge) about something or someone. However, what I want to pose to you today is whether you judge based upon truth or subjectivity?

If something is true then it is ‘real or in accordance with fact or reality‘. Whereas, to be subjective is to be ‘based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions; or, dependent on the mind or on an individual’s perception of its existence’. When applied to judging things, this can mean that your truth and opinion can become opposites of one another if not aligned together accurately. When you ponder this for a moment; let it really sink in, it can actually be quite dangerous.

What does this have to do with perspective? Well, how you see (physically, spiritually and mentally discern; assess, find out, recognise) can change your measure of judgment. We usually define the word measure in terms of mathematics by giving a size, amount or degree to something. This is correct, but now I want you to apply this to everything and everyone you judge… again, things become interesting.

Give it a try… think of something or someone and apply what I just said above. What are your thoughts now saying? What is your heart pouring out? What are the emotions suggesting? Has the importance, effect, or value of that thing or someone changed? Have you made a comparison, and if so is this true or subjective? What did you measure that thing or person by? Have you assessed and concluded this for yourself, or are you dependent upon a past experience, emotion, or view and speech of another? Things have changed right?

This is not meant to condemn (guilty, punishment, sentence, disapprove) you, but IT IS meant to challenge you. We have to make sure we base our judgments upon truth and not subjectivity. Sometimes our opinions or what we have heard from others can be warped, partial, deceived, or even wrong. We need to measure for ourselves, and make sure it is based upon truth.

Then He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By your own standard of measurement [that is, to the extent that you study spiritual truth and apply godly wisdom] it will be measured to you [and you will be given even greater ability to respond]—and more will be given to you besides.

Mark 4:24 (The Amplified version).

As a Christian, the Word of God (the Bible) is our measuring stick (2Peter 1:3, 2Timothy 3:16-17, Acts 17:11). We are taught to test things (1John 4:1, Ephesians 4:14), and study (2Timothy 2:15), so this should be what we use to measure and judge by. The problem can be in our perspective.

As humans; oftentimes, we are given or shown something and we have our own vision, thoughts, and opinions of how it should be or look like. In Isaiah 55:8, the Lord says that his thoughts and ways are not ours. This is why we must measure by truth and not subjectivity. In my pastor’s (Pastor Michael DaCosta) message titled ‘Preparing For The Harvest’ he said something very key when put into context of this blog post.

‘It’s a sad thing when we destroy our own harvest by our own actions. – Michael DaCosta’

If our judgment is not based on truth, then we can be at risk of destroying what is ours. We need to ask God to clean our hearts, and renew our spirits and minds (Psalm 51:10, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23). We need to stop, think, and pray before responding.

Even if you do not believe, follow God, or follow another religion; etc, you must be able to see the principle at hand here? If we do not see correctly, then how can we be sure that what we are doing and how we are doing it is correct? We must know that we must build and establish something on truth and not myth, gossip, or rumour.

I pledge you to think about how you measure your judgments – truth or subjectivity? Again, this is not a condemning post, it is a thought-provoking ‘change your mind‘ message that is purposed to change your life; becoming better.

Spiritual Dysmorphia

My mind has been running its usual mental marathon, trying to think of a simple analogy to describe an internal spiritual  condition of humanity.

Between 4-5AM of Monday morning, the answer finally came to me… Body Dysmorphia. Random right? However, for the purposes of this blog post I will be using this to describe what I am talking about.

Body Dysmorphia (BDD) is “an anxiety disorder that causes a person to have a distorted view of how they look and to spend a lot of time worrying about their appearance.” – NHS definition.

It consists of distressing thoughts about the self (body image) that do not go away. They become negative and are very impactful on an individual’s daily life. A person suffering from it believes they are ugly or defective in some way, and believe other people perceive them the same way. It is very focussed on the ‘external,’ but from an internal perspective.

It is no respecter of persons; affecting both males and females of different ages. It affects many people all over the world and is often hidden by those who struggle with it. More info.

Even though this blog post is not about BDD, this was the answer I was given. I was thinking to myself “why would Body Dysmorphia be the answer I am looking for to describe an internal concept?” The image that followed that question was a woman standing in front of a mirror, and her reflection looking back was very warped.

What Do You See?

I want you to consider something from a spiritual perspective. When using the word ‘spiritual,’ in this context I am referring to something “relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul, as opposed to material or physical things.” – Google definition. I am referring to the internal, not the external.

BDD causes an ugly image to be reflected back, when in reality the true image is different. This is where I flip the script. If we reverse BDD to a spiritual point of view (focussing on the warped reflection looking back – seeing the inside and ignoring the outside), my question to you is: IS THE UGLY, DEFORMED, WARPED PERSON IN YOUR REFLECTION REALLY YOU? This is something I have coined as Spiritual Dysmorphia.

Rather than automatically saying “no” because the outside looks fine, and you may be functioning well – everything is going good for you; no problems or you don’t sense or see any, really have a long look at the warped reflection. Bless God if it’s not true, but the problem is WHEN IT IS TRUE.

Your reflection in this context is who you are as a person: what you do, what you don’t do, your attitude (way of thinking) towards yourself and others, your behaviour in terms of how you treat yourself and others, how you generally think about things, your words and thoughts; etc. Spiritual Dysmorphia is all about the internal; what physically cannot be seen but internally exists under the surface.

Another way to think of Spiritual Dysmorphia is through the Disney Character ‘Beast‘ from Beauty and the Beast.

The Beast

The Beast was externally beautiful but internally ugly: his nature and character were horrible, his heart and mind were ugly too. He was cursed by becoming as ugly externally as he was internally.

“Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” – Mark 7:15 (New International Version).

“As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.” – Proverbs 27:19 (New Living Translation).

What is inside of you will eventually leak out. Spiritual Dysmorphia asks you to look at the true state of your internal nature and character. It asks you to check the state and condition of your heart. What is really going on in your spirit and soul? It asks you to question what you are portraying and producing. It requires you to go deeper into the reflection and deal with what it TRULY seen. If left unchecked or sitting in deception, it will crush you, your life and others around you.

Paul from the Bible and Robert Louis Stevenson (author of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde,) are two of my favourite people. They understood the dual nature of humanity – Paul describing it as spirit and flesh (the fight against good and doing what God wants, or bad and doing as ‘me, myself and I’ wants with no care or desire for God as your will is stronger) from a Christian point of view, and Robert describing it as “man is not truly one, but two,” from a novelists’ perspective.

I wanted to highlight this condition as anyone can easily fall into it. There is such a focus on the external when the true issue is our internal nature and character – our heart and mind. What we need to consider is what is really inside us.

It is hard to acknowledge all of ourselves at times, we would like to leave out the bad. But don’t be fooled by believing that you may be ‘all good’ when you may not be, or as Paul would deem as fleshy (acting in your own accord, understanding, will, desires, heart, mind, etc).

Sometimes we can be ignorant to the ugly reflection staring back at us, and sometimes we can be very aware of it. Once revealed to us, we are responsible for what we know and have the chance to change. When we are mature, there is more responsibility and accountability given to us. The problem becomes when we do not seek to change or transform our warped reflection.

“True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it.” – Karl Popper.

The Bible speaks a lot about examining yourself (checking yourself). It is important to check yourself for Spiritual Dysmorphia. Praying, reading, observing, reviewing our thoughts, watching your actions and motives – the intents of the heart; etc.

“After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!” –2Corinthians 2:11 (The Message Version).

Do not think that you can never be untouched by Spiritual Dysmorphia. Ignorance or pride un-noticed is not bliss.

Choose to take a look today and ponder your reflection. The great thing is that there is always an opportunity to change the deformity. Just remember: Your inside is much more important than your outside.

 

 

 

Understanding Magneto

Magneto is one of the most iconic characters in the Marvel franchise. A powerful mutant known for his ability to generate and control magnetic fields, and his firm beliefs and somewhat ‘unorthodox’ methods in enforcing that mutants are evolutionarily superior to humans.

The way in which Magneto handles things have caused us to categorise him as a villain. Can I be bold enough to say that I DO NOT believe Magneto is a villain?

Have we fell into the good vs evil emotional trap in the superhero world again? However wrong his actions may be, Marvel and the film industry have caused me to understand Magneto.

In 2008, Marvel mastermind and creator Stan Lee was interviewed and said he “did not think of Magneto as a bad guy. He just wanted to strike back at the people who were so bigoted and racist… he was trying to defend the mutants, and because society was not treating them fairly he was going to teach society a lesson. He was a danger of course… but I never thought of him as a villain.”

Our perspective of seeing Magneto as a villain is now being challenged. He was never created to be one. So why is he known as a villain?

Just from the above interview segment from Stan Lee alone, we see that we have judged, misunderstood and therefore misinterpreted Magneto. We have viewed an opinion of him based upon his external actions and missed his history and its impact on his heart and person.

Well let me tell you HIS-STORY…

Originally named Max Eisenhardt and born into a German-Jewish family in the late 1920’s. His family survived the Nazi rise to power, the passing of the Nuremberg Laws, and the Kristallnacht. They fled to Poland where captured during the German invasion of Poland, and sent to Warsaw Ghetto. They escaped but were betrayed and re-captured.

His family were executed and buried in a mass grave; only he survived. He escaped but was re-captured and sent to Auschwitz. He was reunited with Magda, who he fell in love with when he was younger and had escaped the prison camp revolt with. They married and settled in Vinnytsia, a west central city in Ukraine, with their daughter Anya. He adopted the name  “Magnus”.

Not really much of a villain thus far is he? A man constantly enslaved, saw his family slaughtered, and constantly on the run from people trying to kill him. Used and abused for his gifts at a young age.

Still believe he is a villain?

In Criminal Minds season 3 episode 10, BAU agent Rossi said, “life is a hell of a thing to happen to a person.” Situations had already began shaping Magneto but the next part of his story is where we see the unfolding and shaping of WHO he has now become.

The three of them lived happy until an angry mob, previously exposed to Magneto’s powers, burned down their home. Anya was still trapped inside, unable to be rescued due to the angry mob. Enraged, Magneto unleashed his powers and in the process killed the mob and destroyed a part of the city.

Magda; scared of his powers, left him and later gave birth to the mutant twins Pietro (Quicksilver) and Wanda (Scarlet Witch) before being presumed dead. Whilst on the run from the authorities and searching for Magda, Magneto took on the identity of Erik Lehnsherr and relocated to Israel. It was here that he met Charles Xavier whilst working at a psychiatric hospital near Haifa.

He lost everything… his heart failed. His entire soul (mind, will and emotions) was torn.

Is Magneto a villain to you now? We are so quick to judge him based upon his actions in how he responds to things, but never look at the reasons WHY. We do this also to people in the real world. Quick to judge their response but do not always attempt to understand or truly see them.

We can also be like Magneto sometimes. People and situations in our lives cause us to react in different ways. According to the history of Magneto, one could say he is accountable or only truly guilty of;

1. Responding inaccurately.
2. Letting people and situations infect him and make him worse.
3. Un-forgiveness and vengeance.
4. Stubbornness
5.  Pride

This is because of never dealing with, and truly getting over the scars of his past. If anything, Magneto is a wounded, hurting man. How different are we at times?

Professor Charles Xavier was the opposite, he had his own mutant struggles and a much more healthier upbringing. He and Magneto debated the consequences humanity faced with the rise of mutants. Charles believed that humans did not understand mutants and that mutants must show humans a different way. Magneto disagreed because of everything humans had cost him.

Charles had the ability to see Magneto, to understand him.

He was one of very few people who understood and believed that with a little help, Magneto could change. That Magneto could use his past to better his future. The fullness of his powers came from his pain and re-focussing it.

Charles saw Magneto for who he was; faults and all. He acknowledged and accepted both the good and bad inside of Magneto. He did not deny any part of Magneto as a person.

It was because of his ability to do this that he could reach Magneto. He allowed Magneto to see something different, being reason for Magneto’s battles between being a villain, anti hero and superhero. He occasionally was an ally and member of the X-Men at times also.

Xavier knew how to walk with people, he did this with Magneto. Not just in word but in action. Regardless of who Magneto chose to be, he still tried to reach Magneto with an open heart and mind believing Magneto could change.

Even though Magneto chooses to not forgive humans, Xavier chooses to keep trying to help him see a different way; a better way. He wants to change his perspective; his heart. He can only do this through understanding and accepting Magneto for all he is.

However, Charles knows that he himself must still battle against Magneto otherwise there would be no humans left. It is great expecting change but you must not diverse from your own personal walk, path and purpose. Charles still had to correct and challenge Magneto on what he was doing in the present, even though he believed he could change. He saw Magneto’s future but also acknowledged the corruption of Magneto’s present because of his unwillingness and hardships in letting go and forgiving his past.

We need to look beyond the external actions of people and see the heart; see inside them. This does not mean we accept and agree with their responses all the time but we understand what has happened on the inside of them, and are willing to walk them through or with them through the scars. We still need to correct and possibly even rebuke; but still love. Showing them grace until healing and deliverance (freedom) from their wounds come.

Magneto does not need to prove that mutants are better than humans, he does not need to try and turn humans into mutants, he does not need to destroy humans… I don’t agree with his actions in the slightest but I understand why he does what he does. He is accountable for whom he chooses to be.

Hearts must be taken into consideration because if they’re not, you’ll lose that person. We do not justify or highlight what they do, but we must see and acknowledge what is happening on their inside rather than judging from external actions.

 

 

 

An Untouchable Nature

‘The Untouchables‘ is a four time nominated Academy Award film from 1987 based upon the autobiography memoirs of Eliot Ness, published in 1957 about the capture of crime boss Al Capone.

In the film, government agent Eliot Ness (actor Kevin Costner) alongside a hand selected team including officer Jimmy Malone (actor Sean Connery), later to be called ‘The Untouchables‘, set out to stop gangster leader Al Capone (actor Robert De Niro) because of his seven year reign of corruption during the prohibition.

In the film Al Capone is seen as invincible. Through the power of persuasion and influence, any crime that could be connected to him quickly dissolved. He had informants and inside men in different fields of work that allowed him to become like the federal agent group after him, untouchable. 

Robert De Niro as Al Capone

Even though the film title refers to the group of law enforcement agents, the thing that strikes me is the untouchability of Al Capone. Untouchable means that the nature of something cannot be touched, it cannot be moved. Al Capone had this nature.

Do you know that men (universally speaking) can have untouchable natures? The very essence of who they are cannot be touched. For a person to be untouchable it means that an area of their life, mind, emotions, will and hearts cannot be penetrated.

Exodus 32:9 I have seen these people,” the LORD said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people.” (NIV)

Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! (NIV)

The Bible, in the Old Testament (days before Christ, Jewish history) God and those he spoke through always talked about proud people and the turning away of God. It was also spoken of in the New Testament (days of and after Christ, birth of the church, etc). To be stiff-necked is to be proud.

Are you untouchable like this? Is there a part of you that cannot be moved?

• Can people speak to you about issues in your life without you taking offence?
• Are you a know-it-all or can you listen to what others say without shutting them or yourself down?
• Are you in a delusion of humility but really oozing of pride?
• Are you open to be wrong about something or someone?

We can ask ourselves many rhetorically questions to find out whether or not we have an untouchable nature within ourselves and lives. Natures can be formed and re-formed.

In my last blog post I wrote about your character speaking for you. What you choose to do in action will speak before you in words. The nature of a person is very important, your lifestyle and character show people who you are.

Al Capone’s lifestyle was an example of this, he allowed crime, violence and corruption to form his untouchable nature.

Not all is lost in this nature as it can take on two forms, good or bad, proud or humble. Humility is having the quality or condition of a modest opinion or a knowing of one’s own importance, rank, etc. Even Jesus knew he was more than that which he chose to take on (Philippians 2). Al Calpone represents the negative but Paul from the Bible is an example of an untouchable nature in the positive.

Saul of Tarsus (his name before his encounter with God) persecuted followers of Christ until  his encounter with God on the Damascus road, which completely changed Paul’s nature (his name after his encounter of the risen Christ).

In the Bible, Paul in the New Testament records;

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39– NLT).

After Paul was changed from his encounter, he became untouchable in the things of God, speaking up for what he believed in and sharing it with people, even when it put him in prison. He still had his issues, like we all do, but he chose to become moved by God only.

We have the choice of which side of untouchability we become.   We become incorruptible and unmoved in good or we become corruptible and unmoved in wrong.

Never under-estimate the power of an untouchable nature. Look within yourself to see what type of untouchable you are.

Your Character Speaks For You

“Features and traits that form the individual nature of a person or thing.”

The above is a definition of the word ‘character’. Whether we like it or not, or whether it is noticed or not, our character speaks for us.

Matthew 15:11 It is not what goes into the mouth that makes a person unclean. It is what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean. (International Standard Version)

From the above scripture we can see the principle of character relating to the inner state of a person, not only speech. It speaks of what we are made of, what is on the inside of us.

Character is quality, the essence of who we are. When I refer to the term ‘speak’, I do not mean this in the form of audible speech (which it can mean) but I am referring to the manifested fruit of ones actions and behaviours. Our speech of course is important as we do need to think about what we say, how we say it (related scriptures on our speech), but my concern in this post is our actions and behaviours.

Actions speak louder than words

Matthew 7:16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? (New Living Translation)

Life impacts everyone differently. Situations bring out both the best and worst of us. However the underlying factor that separates individuals characters is what a person allows to be formed within them. It is this forming of traits and features that is important and should be reflected upon.

Like the farmer who sows seeds in soil for need of a good harvest, we must check what the seeds (features and traits) are before sowing them (allowing them to become part of us) as well as the soil (our hearts, minds, bodies, etc) that they are becoming part of.

What traits and features are you becoming? What have you become already? These could be jealousy, envy, hate, love, compassion, musical taste, rejection, religious beliefs, values, addictions, drugs, alcohol, smoking, laziness, political views, cultural traditions, etc; there are many of which are unlisted here. Traits and features are what make you YOU. These questions must be asked to yourself.

I once heard someone say that whether we grow or not, we are becoming something. That God is interested in what we are becoming. I am pretty sure this was Stasi Eldredge but cannot be 100%.

Speech alone is not enough to carry you through life.  Actions and speech walk hand in hand, hence the saying “you can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?”

We must accustom our speech AND behaviours. Speech can go before us but most times behaviour does because of what we think or how we feel and act. At times we do not need to say anything for something or someone to experience something from us. This can be seen also in first impressions. Hypocrisy has been a well known giant in society.

John Maxwell in his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, speaks about The Law of the Lid (an individual’s effectiveness has a say on their leadership and potential). We cannot talk something that we do not walk.

If what we say has truly become us then it will be manifested, good or bad. We must change speech but also our actions & behaviours.

I have this one question for you, WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER SAYING ABOUT YOU?

Reflect upon the quality of your character, both internally and externally. John 1:14 states that the Word (Jesus) became flesh (human). What type of flesh (quality in this regards) has your character become or is becoming? What’s the production of your character?

We seek only to be the best we can be but at what cost?

Mark 8:36 What good does it do for people to win the whole world yet lose their lives? (God’s Word Translation)

Internally Shutter-boxed

Man can sometimes mirror machine. Not only has he the ability to function all day and night; sub-sectioning a vast intake whilst constantly re-charging but he also has the capacity to ‘break down’. Human nature has a way of dismissing that which it does not wish to face. Anything that causes internal conflict or outer uncomfortability can cause us to run like prey as if it were conscious of its predator.

Our life is the arena and we are the centre stage of it. All activity concerning us is present in the centre whilst spectators have their active or passive input. Our mind, will and emotions (soul), heart, spirit and physical being are all part of this centre which is affected by the activities of everyday life.

Situations and circumstances (activities of life) trailed alongside their outcomes form us as a people. Their affects shape and help build us into the people who we become and are today. These outcomes can have vibrant or fatal affects on us. We manifest the outcomes our situations and circumstances internally have on us. How we handle the outcomes begin to flow from us. They manifest behaviours and attitudes.

Our arenas; education, religion, work, economy and finance, politics, relationships- love/ family/ friends, culture and other avenues become infected . The exterior gives insight into the interior. How we handle decisions and choices, confusion, beliefs and doubts, unmet desires, frustrations and anger, discouragement, violence and abuse, etc is key to our internal selves.

At any given time or age these impacts on our heart, soul and physical selves still make us prone to the ability to shut ‘ones-self’ down. Today’s society is no better than the ancestors that have lived  before us and those yet to be birthed in a distant future. Even Adam and Eve hid once they had disobeyed God’s instructions (Genesis 3). Life and its hand dealings still have their impact on us.

The problem occurs when we internalise the problems by not handling them well or maybe not at all. We section off the parts we do not want to face. They become little stacker boxes or locked up crates with keys that can only be found in a treasure hunt. Some shut whilst others open. Internally we can hide in every corner or dark valley available to us that allows us to find shade rather than the light we need. We become masters of masquerading rather than transparent beings.

When we begin to shut down internally rather than be honest and face our Goliath’s (giants or mountains) we have a major problem. Not only will we become distant from our real selves but we begin to die inside.

Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee” (King James Version).

Regardless of religion or culture the above scriptural principle applies. Whatever you think you are, you become. The only way of outgrowing what we become is in changing our thoughts and emotions through our decisions from the impacts of life. We become better or worse people based on the internal attitude and what we have been told of who we are and who we internally choose to be, leading to our external manifested self.

Life is different for every person, some worse than others but all still damaging in a way to that particular individual, which I think we all can agree on. The best advice is that regardless of what has happened, seek help. Whether it be through religion or counsel; never internally shut down or get addicted to something that will numb the pain of an internal bleed. Do not internally box yourself up into compartments and write on them the wounds of what happened. Dealing with every box is beneficial, hard but beneficial to you being ALIVE internally.

We think that because everything looks ok on the outside that all is fine but if the inside of a man is not living then he is walking dead.

Proverbs 4:23 reading from the New Living Translation version of the Bible reads “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life”.

Your heart is central to who you are. When you stop living from it you begin to feel its affects. Life throws some wicked curve balls at us but we can choose to face them and their percussions or internally shutter box; functioning with the lights off. Find a way to not shut down internally but face who you are becoming or have become internally.