“God don’t like ugly.”

One of our clients where I work is now being raised by his aunt and uncle. His mom and dad passed away a few years ago. This client’s aunt tells him this phrase all the time in order to get him to stop and think about how he is acting. It also helps him to understand that there are consequences for ugly behavior and it’s not just natural consequences. It’s also the consequence that can eventually come from God as well.

Although this phrase is NOT grammatically correct (sorry, it’s the teacher in me that gets a little twitchy about it), the phrase itself is PERFECTLY correct, as in its meaning. Too many people, now, need to go take a good, hard look at themselves in the mirror. Of course, they won’t. Why? When people start to look at how they are acting, then they also have to start acknowledging the ugliness that exists within them. They may also start to see how hypocritical they are being. That inner search can be very, very difficult.

Now, why do you think that is? Why do people have such a hard time seeing their own behavior in a negative light?

One theory that I have is that they were never taught how to show compassion to others when they were young. That is CERTAINLY not an excuse but just a reason. Another theory that I have is that they might have always been told that everything that they did in life was wonderful and marvelous and awesome. You should get my point.

So, the problem? If someone is never humbled enough in order to be considerate of others, then it is very difficult to “see” their own behavior as being anything but wonderful and marvelous and awesome. They never learned how to be humble. That’s a HUGE problem and one that they will pay for eventually. Even if they never get what’s coming to them in this world, trust me when I say that God is always watching. He gives us PLENTY of opportunities to “fix” our behavior while we are alive, but be very, very sure that HIS consequence is permanent when we have to go before Him and try to justify our actions. There are no second chances then. (Related post: The time for reckoning is now)

So, what did I learn from this? God gives us lots and lots of opportunities to “get it right”. I can’t blame God for the choices that I made in life. All He wants is for me to acknowledge my sinfulness and then do my very best to follow His path for me. I have to continually trust that He knows me and has a plan for me to follow. I have to humble myself in order to discover that path. And actually? It’s not so hard when the rewards have been so much fun to experience!

What can you gain from this? Remember that we only have a finite number of years to “get it right”. If that doesn’t get you motivated then I don’t know what will. Also, remember that no one can predict when their time on earth is done. So…. you need to act like every day could be your last! And now, it’s time to act accordingly!!