James 1:24 KJV
[24] “For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.”
I want you to imagine a man beginning his morning by standing in front of a mirror. He has showered, shaved, and is now brushing his teeth. As he looks into the mirror he knows that the next thing on his daily prep list is to apply some hair gel and part his hair in place. He is running a little behind in his schedule today and in his haste, he forgets to do this part of his routine.
He rushes out the door and is on his way to work. He passes several people on his route noticing awkward looks and glances as he goes his way. He gets to work and sees folks whispering as he passes them. He cannot imagine why he’s getting all of this attention. Perhaps it’s the new sports jacket that he purchased over the weekend. It might be the teeth whitener he has been using over the past month. Whatever it is, folks sure are making a fuss about it. He cannot help but feel good about himself.
As the day goes his confidence is building about how he has turned so many heads. He strolls down the hallway to use the restroom and to take a glance at this sharply dressed individual. He walks into the men’s room and immediately his confidence is crushed! He looks like he just crawled out of bed! All of a sudden he remembered that he forgot to brush his hair! He had no idea that he looked so terrible. The mirror told him what he needed to do but as he got busy he left the mirror and forgot what he looked like. It wasn’t until he came before the mirror again that he saw himself for who he really was. Friend this is true about many of God’s children. If we do not look often in the mirror of God’s Word pride will consume us. We will think we appear to be okay when in reality people see us for who we really are. We walk around having no idea how we actually look.