“I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2nd Corinthians 12:1-10 ESV
In my travels around the world, I have encountered some really ugly men. I mean, I look at the reflection in the mirror every morning and it doesn't get much uglier than that.
But I can remember being in line at a local restaurant a few weeks back and listening to a guy at the front of the line as he berated the girl at the register as she struggled to take his order. I stood there watching and listening as he got more and more angry that this poor kid who just couldn't seem to get it right. He was being slowed down during his busy day, trying to order "fast food," and he chose to take it out on this poor, unsuspecting girl behind the counter.
That man was ugly but I have seen uglier still...
I remember sitting in a lecture hall back in college one day when a classmate was thoroughly embarrassed by the sitting professor for simply asking a question at the wrong time. This poor guy had no clue that was he was doing was wrong all he was trying to gain was a better understanding of the material that was being presented but to this highly educated and professional professor, this kid was slowing him down and causing him to repeat himself. To say this professor thought highly of himself was an understatement. Yeah, that was very ugly, but I have seen uglier...
I can also remember a time when I was out with men I respected when I was a younger man in business and they were all married but it didn't stop them from making inappropriate comments to the young lady that was waiting on us in a restaurant that night. I can remember thinking how pathetic these guys are and I hope I don't ever behave that way and that too was ugly, but I have seen uglier...
If I am honest and I look back over my past, I think that the prize for the ugliest man I have ever seen should actually be awarded to none other than me! I have demonstrated my less than desirable and ugly side more times than I care to count or remember. The ugliness that I am speaking about comes, not from my outward appearance, but from what I consider to be my nastiest and most dangerous character flaw: selfishness.
My selfishness has caused more pain and conflict than I care to remember. When I take a long look inside my heart, at the places that only myself and God can see, I can think of no sin I have committed that isn't born from selfishness. Far too many times in my life, I have placed my own desires, my deep seeded need to be seen, known, and included, in front of those that I professed to love and care about. Plainly put, I have placed myself and my needs first far too many times. And every single time it has been an ugly situation.
I pray every single day that I will one day put my ego and selfishness to rest and every single day I am reminded that I am no better than the man in line at the restaurant, the professor from my college, or the men that ignored their vows to their wives. These man have nothing on me when it comes to the selfish nature that resides deep inside my heart. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can I overcome the selfishness and ever hope to put it to rest.
In my travels around the world, I have encountered some really ugly men. I mean, I look at the reflection in the mirror every morning and it doesn't get much uglier than that.
But I can remember being in line at a local restaurant a few weeks back and listening to a guy at the front of the line as he berated the girl at the register as she struggled to take his order. I stood there watching and listening as he got more and more angry that this poor kid who just couldn't seem to get it right. He was being slowed down during his busy day, trying to order "fast food," and he chose to take it out on this poor, unsuspecting girl behind the counter.
That man was ugly but I have seen uglier still...
I remember sitting in a lecture hall back in college one day when a classmate was thoroughly embarrassed by the sitting professor for simply asking a question at the wrong time. This poor guy had no clue that was he was doing was wrong all he was trying to gain was a better understanding of the material that was being presented but to this highly educated and professional professor, this kid was slowing him down and causing him to repeat himself. To say this professor thought highly of himself was an understatement. Yeah, that was very ugly, but I have seen uglier...
I can also remember a time when I was out with men I respected when I was a younger man in business and they were all married but it didn't stop them from making inappropriate comments to the young lady that was waiting on us in a restaurant that night. I can remember thinking how pathetic these guys are and I hope I don't ever behave that way and that too was ugly, but I have seen uglier...
If I am honest and I look back over my past, I think that the prize for the ugliest man I have ever seen should actually be awarded to none other than me! I have demonstrated my less than desirable and ugly side more times than I care to count or remember. The ugliness that I am speaking about comes, not from my outward appearance, but from what I consider to be my nastiest and most dangerous character flaw: selfishness.
My selfishness has caused more pain and conflict than I care to remember. When I take a long look inside my heart, at the places that only myself and God can see, I can think of no sin I have committed that isn't born from selfishness. Far too many times in my life, I have placed my own desires, my deep seeded need to be seen, known, and included, in front of those that I professed to love and care about. Plainly put, I have placed myself and my needs first far too many times. And every single time it has been an ugly situation.
I pray every single day that I will one day put my ego and selfishness to rest and every single day I am reminded that I am no better than the man in line at the restaurant, the professor from my college, or the men that ignored their vows to their wives. These man have nothing on me when it comes to the selfish nature that resides deep inside my heart. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can I overcome the selfishness and ever hope to put it to rest.
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