What would it take to change someone's poor self-image? From loser to winner?
From worthless nobody to valuable somebody? It's hard to say.
USA Today carried a brief note on Sept. 25, 1997, about a marvellous rescue of a
child. A homeless man in New York City saved the life of a two-year-old boy
whose house was on fire. The man talked Sonya Lopez into throwing her son down
to him when the mother and her child were trapped in their burning house. He
caught the 27-pound boy and then helped Sonya get out. The baby was uninjured,
and his mother was treated for smoke inhalation and released. They are fine.
The hero that day was 45-year-old John Byrnes. He has been homeless for two
years. He is an alcoholic. In his own words, he is a "drunken bum."
Maybe Mr. Byrnes needs to look at himself through the eyes of Sonya Lopez.
Do you think he's just a drunken bum to her? Not on your life. He's a certified
hero. He saved her son's life — and hers. Yet this is the best he could say for
himself afterward: "Drunk as I am, I knew what to do right then and there."
People do heroic things because they are created in the image and likeness of
God. Like a coin whose image has been defaced, any one of us may mar the
likeness to God in his or her character. Alcoholism or a dozen other things that
quickly come to mind can convince us how unworthy we are. We hear others attach
labels to us. Worse still, we accept those labels — stupid, drunken bum, cheat,
liar, con.
My theory is that the day he saved the lives of a baby and his mother should
have changed John Byrnes' self-image. But how long has he been told he is
worthless? How many times has he been called a bum because he is homeless and
dirty? And what has his alcoholism cost him in terms of the view he has of
himself?
Perhaps the only way to reverse (or avoid) a terrible self-image is to have
people who really care about you to remind constantly of your worth in their
eyes. Parents, hear this about your children. Mates, hear it about your spouses.
Hear it about anyone whose welfare and happiness you value.
God's strategy across the centuries has been to remind you of your worth in his
eyes. If you missed it in his words, he said it one last time in giving his Son
for you. No matter the label someone has stuck on you, heaven says you're worth
dying for.
Rubel Shelly
The FAX of Life
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.