You Can’t Hide Who You Are 1 – The Iceberg
You ever seen those cool pictures of icebergs? Like the one up above. Where the top is shown, and then under the water is like four times the size as the top. These are amazing creations of freezing temps and water. I think sailors understand that you need to be more concerned about the iceberg you can’t see more than the part you can see. It is what you can’t see that can either sink you or make you greater.
It is the same with people. There is the above the water part of our lives. Today people live these out on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter. We see their feeds and wonder how their life could be either this great or that bad. They show us the face they want us to see. We can judge them, but if we are honest we do the same thing. We throw these images and stories out there so that people will see what we want. It is the game we have all learned to play in recent years in a digital era. Sadly, humans have been playing this game for a very, very long time.
We need to realize that what is underneath the water is truly who we are. Our character is revealed by our actions and cannot be hidden for long; especially when people start crashing into each other. That is why the picture of the iceberg is perfect to talk about our character. We think we can hide who we are, but it will eventually be seen by all of the people around us. Our character can be sum total of four things that we are going to talk about over the next month.
Our character is defined by self discipline, core values, sense of identity and emotional security. These combine to help us create what our character will be in life. First maybe we should stop and figure out how this works.
In Proverbs 4:23, Solomon wrote: “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.” When we stop and think about what we think about it can change our souls and character. Our thoughts will guide our lives more than any other thing. We have to decide who we want to be and then begin to think that way. Our brains and thoughts are a powerful tool that can shape our character as much, if not more, as anything in our lives. That is why this old king warned us to watch our thoughts.
There is a saying I’ve never forgotten.
“Watch
your thoughts, they become words;
watch your words, they become actions;
watch your actions, they become habits;
watch your habits, they become character;
watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
If our character becomes our destiny then it is important to remember that our character starts with our thoughts. Always remember that we, as the Bible says, must take every thought captive. We need keep a close watch on where our mind wanders and what thoughts we allow to take root within our souls.
That is why the picture of the iceberg. The part that is seen is our thoughts and it shapes and forms our character beneath the surface of the water. Watch your thoughts and make sure we are thinking about things that add value and make our lives more meaningful and positive.
Next week we will look at Self-discipline and how taking control of our life can make all the difference.