You’re Fat, Crappa!

By Lane R. Johnson

The television commercial was for a weight loss program and featured names like Dan Marino and Don Shula.  It promised incredible results and advertised itself to be just the thing for men.  I had seen the ad a hundred times and really wasn’t paying attention.  After all, Cullen, my five year old grandson, was sitting next to me and I felt like I was on top of the world!  Anyway, that commercial was for fat people.

Just then he turned to me and spoke out of his wisdom and innocence, “You’re fat Crappa, you need to do that”.  This was not what I had envisioned this moment to be like.  It was not the tender moment of generational bonding that I had imagined would take place with my grandson.  I mean sitting watching television with your grandson should be an enjoyable experience.  This was the reward for all those years I had invested in his mother?  This was my crown as an old man?  He was my legacy in flesh and blood, and, he was so darned cute!

However, after six kids and two grandchildren…. well you learn honesty and ego are not comfortable with each other and there is only so much you can hide from people that God has called you to love and serve.  We all have an ego.  It’s the image I have of myself.  Sometimes it’s destructive because it fails to see the work and beauty of God in our lives and it undervalues us.  Sometimes it’s destructive because it imagines my worth to exceed the worth of others.  Sometimes it even mistakenly assumes that the grace and gifts of God I enjoy are the works of my own hands.

Verse three of Romans 12 in the Message Bible says: I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you.  Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God.  No, God brings it all to you.  The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

“What God is and what he does”… that is what we are about.  Seeing my life in light of His shaping; seeing myself as a reflection of His fingerprints, His hands infusing me with His warmth.  This is the only accurate way to understand myself.  This way of thinking transcends economic, social, or talent considerations.  Rather it accurately reflects that fact that my life’s worth is the sum total of God’s influence—His guiding.  It has nothing to do with my failures or successes.

Paul admonished that we think soberly, honestly according to how God has dealt to each of us.  The enemy wants something different; he wants me to compare myself with you.  He doesn’t care if I conclude I’m better, or if I decide I’m worthless.  He just wants me to ignore what God thinks.  He wants me to form opinions based on his whispers and accusations, all of which are lies and never reflect the truth.

Who are you listening to right now?  Who is speaking into your life?  Who is deciding your worth and value?  We are committed to knowing God and understanding His ways in order to more accurately know who we are.  Listen to what God is saying about you, it’s truly amazing.

I have to finish this now, the Nutri-System delivery is at the front door.