Who Do You See?

In the Ovidian version of the Greek myth of Narcissus, beauty was made ugly with pride. At first, his pride had nothing to do with his looks. It was just a general self-love. Then, he caught a glimpse of himself and liked what he saw. In fact beyond liking, he was mesmerized by the image reflected back to him in the waters from which he sought to quench his thirst. From that place, he would never know satisfaction. His deep love of the image of himself led to his wasting away unto death.

Who a person sees determines what a person does. If one looks into the face of another and sees her own reflection, the response will probably be based on self and not the other person. A person who rarely gets beyond the implications of his actions upon himself will rarely connect with the true and full realities of another person’s life.

Narcissus-like behavior has been the problem from the beginning – love of self over love of God and others. It is not that love of self is wrong or unimportant. Jesus said that his followers must love neighbors as one’s self. But, self-love must be in its proper place. Self-love can be debilitating. As the apostle Paul put it, the Christian should not consider himself more important than others. The way of Jesus is one of humility - where the attitude of self to others is servant, instead of master; an open hand that gives with graciousness, instead of a tight grasp upon power, position and possessions.

So, who do you see?