Do you remember the wicked queen in the children's story Snow White? She wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the land. Every morning she would gaze into her magic mirror and inquire, "Mirror, mirror on the wall - who's the fairest one of all?" The mirror "faithfully" responded day after day that she - the wicked queen - was indeed the most beautiful woman in the kingdom until the fateful day when the mirror told the truth that Snow White was indeed more beautiful. As the story unfolds it is more and more evident that Snow White is not only beautiful of face and form but also of heart. Her beauty is much more than skin deep and the mirror tells it true.
Recently the news has told the sad story of another who is also apparently consummed with his own "beauty" - a US congressman, no less. His now well- cussed and discussed (and finally 'fessed up to) "cyber sin" - which at the heart is no less than the same kind of narcissism with which the wicked queen was also infected.
New York Times columnist Ross Douthat wrote (6/14/2011): In the sad case of Representative Anthony Weiner's virtual adultery, the Internet era's defining vice has been thrown into sharp relief. It isn't lust or smut or infidelity, though online life encourages all three. It's a desperate, adolescent narcissim. ... Facebook and Twitter did not forge the culture of narcissism. But they serve as a hall of mirrors in which it flourishes as never before
... as Anthony Weiner just found out, it's very easy to get lost in there.
Chuck Colson gets it terribly right in Breakpoint today: Congressman Weiner recently announced that he was seeking a leave of absence from the Congress so he could undergo therapy. Therapy for what? For repulsive behavior? For the inability to refrain from taking lewd photos of himself and sending them to innocent people? I don't know what psychologists would call this disorder, but I would call it sin. ... And while some doctor will prescribe psychotherapy or some drug to control the Congressman's urges, the proper prescription would be taking responsibility, repenting and asking forgiveness. ... Those feelings of guilt and shame that so many of us nowadays try to medicate or explain away are absolutely essential to our moral and spiritual well-being. They are warning lights that all is not well with our souls. We ignore them or disable them at our own peril. ... The cure for narcissism is stepping away from the mirror and looking at someone else - especially at Him who is (or should be) the true desire of us all. ... Taking a pill or undergoing therapy will be no substitutes for forgiveness. The good news is that forgiveness is only repentance and a prayer away.
Only God can grant full forgiveness (because of the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus) and only God can hear your prayer! BUT others can help and support that journey. We all need that loving support - that's what restoration is all about: bringing life through a surrounding community of faith, love and acceptance! If you are searching for such a safe place to recover and find your own restoration of heart and soul, my friend, then come join others on that same journey at A Restoration Church!
Ultimately it's a journey of the heart into the restoration that only God's grace can bring us into and through into the light of His love and acceptance! The mirror of God's truth and grace is the only one that tells it true!
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