STOMP 1-2-3

By Christine Jayakaran

Have you noticed amidst the working class there is a strange way of self advertising. In order to make one's self look better they put down another. I recently went to my tailor to get some alterations done on a few dresses and the tailor looked at the stitching and said that the original tailor’s work was shoddy and unprofessional and that had she done the initial work she would have done a way better job. A few days later I was trying out a new cook for our home when she took one look at my spice rack and berated my previous cook for poor maintenance and untidiness!!! (My eyes are rolling all over the place as I write this).

Forget the working class- this attitude has infiltrated every bit of our lives. Those who run organisations, do social work, cater to the spiritual needs of communities seem to thrive on publicly berating and crushing other people’s reputations into sludge.

Why do we need to stamp someone else into the ground to gain footing for ourselves. Why don't we just do our work well and allow our work to speak for itself? Why this needless character bashing and reputation smearing campaign? Where does it get us? What do we achieve from all this?

I wonder if it's a fundamental problem of too little work, too much free time and a lack of self esteem and purpose that creates such an unhealthy situation.

Let's face it all of us have too much to do in so little time. We sometimes feel we are running from task to task and have to intentionally take a break and just sit down with our children for a few much needed laughs (and sometimes naps). Or just leave our phone on do not disturb mode for a few hours and grab some time with a book! If we have the time to tarnish someone else we have too much time on our hands. End of story!

Speaking of self esteem and purpose are huge topics in themselves but to put it across simply- we must know who we are and why on earth we were created.

The minute we discover that we are not just an employee, spouse, sibling or offspring but a child of God- dearly loved and adopted at a great price (I know! Mind-blowing!!!) our perspective shifts.

We don't create to impress - We don't serve to be served - We don't empathise for empathy - We just rest in who we are -

We realise that we are enough! We also realise that we need a lot of work on ourselves so we can safely forget about trying to work on or comment on someone else!

Once our identity is seared into our very being we discover our life’s purpose. That moment when we discover why we are here is a holy moment! It really is.. it will straighten out a whole lot of things for us and none of those things will involve putting down someone else or shoving them aside so that we are seen better.

So that being said are you ready to take those steps forward. Steps that involve steady steps- one, two, three forward in the direction of our identity and purpose and not those side steps which sound something like this - stomp one two three. These resounding thuds will hold us back and send us on endless time-consuming detours.

Footnotes

Galatians 6:4-5 (ESV) But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbour. For each will have to bear his own load.

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FootNotes

Galatians 6:4-5 (ESV) But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbour. For each will have to bear his own load.