Narcissists are consumed with maintaining a shallow false self to others. They’re emotionally crippled souls that are addicted to attention. Because of this they use a multitude of games, in order to receive adoration. Shannon L. Alder
The ego longs to be seen and admired, and all those who fall under its narcissistic spell see the world as their stage. Abandoning their true selves for the sake of thunderous applause, they live their lives in performance.
But, as with all performances, the script has an ending. The actors take their bows. The audience goes home. The stage falls silent, and the performers go back to the dressing rooms, remove their costumes, masks, and makeup, and go home as themselves.
The Greek word for such a stage actor is hypokrites. In English, we transliterate that word as hypocrite, and we use it to refer to a person who acts as if he is one thing on the public stage, but lives as if he is another thing entirely in private.
None of us wants to be known as a hypocrite. None of us wants to be seen as a narcissist. We just want to be seen. Noticed. Accepted. Loved.
The problem is that we are afraid that people will not accept us for who we really are, and so we fashion costumes that hide our true selves in hopes that we will be seen as the performer‘s persona and receive the requisite rounds of applause that go with it.
And the longer we play a role, regardless of how much recognition we receive, our true selves will continue to grow restless until we are seen and known for who we really are.
Today, we will wrestle together with the natural tendencies to fall into narcissism and hypocrisy and discover the rewards of being true to ourselves.
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This is the truth for you, men of Athens; I am hiding nothing from you either great or small in my speech, nor am I holding anything back. And yet I know rather well that I incur hatred by these very things; which is also a proof that I speak the truth. Socrates
The truth hurts, and its wounded often lash out.
When the divine light of truth confronts, all masks and costumes fashioned to conceal it fall away. And in that moment, confronted with the reality of our naked being, we face tough choices: run, fight, or embrace.
Those who run search for a place where they may reacquire the familiar cloaking devices. Those who fight rush the source of the light of truth and attack, hoping that darkness may once again fall. And those who embrace the truth are transformed and experience the divine.
Truth ignites hatred in those entrenched in ego-centered living, because it calls their entire being into question. Truth is a threat to the ego’s way of life, and so the mightiest personal military forces available must be sent out to “protect.”
A life founded on the ego’s principles resorts to hatred instead of love, lies instead of truth, and insults instead of encouragement.
Today we will face the reality that those of us who speak truth, live rightly, and align ourselves with the divine will inevitably be the victims of enraged, wounded egos. And in that reality can find happiness, because it is an indicator that we are living in the kingdom of heaven.
Conversely, though, if we find ourselves unnoticed. Unchallenged. Unopposed. Unaffected by the egos of the world, then it is a haunting sign that our truth is hidden or corrupt. Our living is weak or off base. And our Jesus is an idol constructed in our own image and not the living, breathing God of the Universe.
So let’s see where we stand.
Source Scripture
Matthew 5:10-12; Luke 6:22-23,26
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I do not know why there is this difference, but I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait. When you do enter your room, you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not as camping. You must keep on praying for light: and of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and paneling. C.S. Lewis
We may not realize it, but our modern definition of waiting has devolved into something like this: that maddening interval of time we must endure between two successive desired experiences that leaves us irritable and discontent.
The key point to recognize here in this definition of waiting is that what we see as positive are only the bookends – the experiences on either side of the waiting period – and not the treasury of stories available to us in between.
As much as we may like to think so, life does not consist of creating an agenda and checking off each line item with as little waiting in between as possible.
Life does, and always will, consist of waiting. And so the key to life in this respect is not the impossible task of eliminating the wait. The key is establishing an altogether different definition of waiting.
We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us. Joseph Campbell
In today’s episode, we will attempt to derive a true definition of waiting, to accept it as an inevitable and necessary, and to embrace its presence…through embracing the present.
Source Scripture
Good News or Fake News? – Matthew 5:1-2; Luke 6:17-20
Inside Man – Matthew 5:3-12; Luke 6:20-26
Escaping the Matrix – Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20,24
Have a Great Mourning – Matthew 5:4; Luke 6:21,25
Meek in and Meek Out – Matthew 5:5
Just Right – Matthew 5:6; Luke 6:21,25
Extras
Suggested Scripture: Psalm 22; Psalm 37; Psalm 42
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Shall we hire a herald then… or shall I myself announce that… the best and most just man is happiest. Plato
Plato concludes his famous work Republic with this declaration by Socrates. The entire work focuses on one central concept: justice, or righteousness.
In fact, there are those who believe that the correct title of Plato’s work is not Republic, but On the Righteous Man.
The Greek word at the heart of this 2400 year-old work is dikaiosune. Sometimes it is translated justice. Sometimes it is translated righteousness. The reason for this juggling match is that English does not have a single word that encapsulates the intended meaning of Plato’s subject.
An accurate translation might be as follows: harmony with purpose – what is right and good – within the soul and in relation to others.
The concept of harmony is at the heart of this concept of justice or righteousness. It implies multiple musical notes played simultaneously that produce the sound that is “right”, not discordant or “wrong”.
Do this, say Socrates and Plato, and you will be the happiest person alive.
Today we will examine a single statement of Jesus in which he not only sums up the entirety of Plato’s republic, but takes it a step further, inviting us all to sing in perfect harmony – and be our happiest.
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