Finding Balance

I always seem to have epiphanies while driving. I wrote my college essay that way, and tend to think of my blog posts either in the car or on a long way. Probably because it gives me time on my own to think, but who knows, really.

Anyway, yesterday morning was day 13 of my devotional "New Day, New You" that I'm reading on my Bible app. It's been a fabulous devotional - I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, simple blurb to set your day off right. The title of day 13 is "Our Standard is Jesus". It talked about how compared to others we might not be too bad, but compared to Jesus, we pretty much suck. It talks about humbling ourselves and striving to be as Jesus-like as we possible can.

I find it difficult to strike a balance between self-deprecation and self-improvement. It is also hard to find a balance between striving to be like Jesus, and loving yourself because He loves you and you are His creation. It's a fine line, isn't it?

Upon musing, the solution that came to mind is respect. If you think of people you respect, how would you describe them? Would you call them complacent? Probably not, so they are definitely striving to be better. However, you probably wouldn't call them negative or self-conscious either. People you respect tend to be confident yet humble. I'd call that a good place to aim for. You can't love yourself if you don't respect yourself, and you can't reach for Jesus if you are beating yourself up. But you also can't look around you and say "I'm good enough, look at how bad they are!" Your "good-ness" isn't graded on a curve. You'll never be good enough, and yet, you are already good enough. You can never be Jesus, but that shouldn't keep you from trying. But he'll love you no matter what, and realizing that is half the battle. Finding the balance between your worth and your faults is nearly impossible but is so important.

"God doesn't love you because you're valuable. You're valuable because God loves you."