B E H I N D / T H E / B A R

We live in a very “me first” world.  When I was younger I thought “narcissism” was just an adjective to describe someone who thought they were all of that and a bag of chips.  Turns out narcissism has actually been classified as an actual personality disorder:  

“Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism.”

Mayo Clinic

It seems as though many people have lost touch with what common courtesy means.  Simple things like:

• Not holding the door for someone else.
• Blasting the speaker on your phone in public.
• Blocking entry ways to have conversation.
• Having no concept of a line
• Texting or watching a video on your phone while you’re walking at an inconsistent speed, veering side to side, making it impossible for someone walking behind them to get around you.
• Doing the same thing while you’re driving, but also cutting people off, refusing to let people over, slamming on your brakes because you missed your exit, making a right turn from the left lane.  

You get my point.

Thing is, I know I’m guilty of some of these very things and more. You may be too.  

I was reading a devotional by Pastor Mark Batterson recently and he told about his spiritual father, who greets Batterson with a hearty “There You Are” every time he sees him.  

“He told me, a long time ago, there are two kinds of people in the world—here I am and there you are. 

– Mark Batterson

I get it.  Here I Am people are what I call “mirror people.” They see themselves before they see others. They walk into a room and their ego barely fits through the door.   Their conversations are overloaded with words like “me,” “myself,” and “I.” 

There You Are people are what I call “window people.” They walk into a room and they see others that are in the room. They check their ego at the door. They are about seeing the value in other’s.  

We talked about these kind of people in this past Sunday’s study of Philippians.   Paul doesn’t call them Mirrors or Windows / “Here I Am,” “There You Are” people in his letter to the Philippians – but through out his letter he does distinguish the two types of people, and one of the few reasons Paul writes his letter is to challenge the Philippian followers of Jesus to be more There You Are” and less Here I Am.”

I wish I was more of a There You Are person, and less of a Here I Am person. I tend to get pretty preoccupied with me. Overly focused on what I need, what I’m doing, what I look like to others. I’m afraid I spend more time looking into a mirror, and less time through a window to see others.  I want to get this right though.  I HAVE TO GET THIS RIGHT.

Here’s why. . . . Paul tells the Philippians, 

“. . . . but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.”

Philippians 3:20-21

There You Are People become There He Is People.  They look at life through windows instead of into mirrors, and they more easily see Jesus.  In their day to day lives. . . 

. . . . at the grocery store in a random conversation with a stranger

. . . . at the coffee shop in the person sitting across from them.

. . . . on the sidewalk with the homeless person that they pass every day.

and they will see Jesus

. . . . when He returns.  

I knows it’s old school. But I still believe Jesus is coming back and I want to see Him, when He does.  But if I’m all wrapped up at looking at myself in the mirror, all day everyday, I’ll just be a Here I Am” person, instead of a There You Are person, looking at others around me, and I’ll miss Him, when He does show up.

May you be a Window today.