“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony.” Psalm 133:1 CSB
In order to live in harmony with anyone else, we have to be in harmony with ourselves. I recently purchased some new bras from a place I’ve shopped for years. I always love the end of July, the beginning of August because it is clearance time for them. Clearance is the only way I shop, God’s clear, we’re not to waste money. This morning, as I was putting on my new piece of clothing, God reminded me of a story I wanted to share with all of you.
When I was in highschool, I loved Home Economics. I’m not sure this class even exists now, but it is where I learned to cook and sew, neither of them very well, but I learned. My senior year, I spent a lot of time with the Home Ec teacher, I’m sorry to say I can’t remember her name. But she was extremely skinny, always dieting, very insecure about her looks. I remember that about her. One day, we were working on costumes for the school play when she told me a story I have never forgotten. When she was in college she had a roommate that had weight issues. Apparently she was very fat. But she always had a boyfriend and she had lots of friends. This baffled my teacher, because she was skinny and pretty and didn’t have a boyfriend or a lot of friends. My teacher finally asked her what she was doing wrong? Why didn’t she have a boyfriend or a lot of friends? This is what her roommate told her. She said it was her underwear. She said she always wore matching bras and panties to remind herself, it’s what is on the inside that matters, not what was on the outside. I have to confess, I’ve worn matching undergarments ever since. Because I realized she was right, I understood the message she was trying to tell me. What is on the inside is more important than what is on the outside.
When we remember this truth, we will be in harmony with ourselves. When we are in harmony with ourselves, we will be in harmony with other people. We’ll be able to see the truth and speak the truth in love. We won’t take everything personally and be offended easily. We’ll understand everyone is struggling in some way, just as we are. Everyone is fighting a battle, sometimes the inner battle comes out in hurtful actions. If so, it just means they are hurting themselves. When Jesus is what is inside of us, we’ll find the harmony we so desperately need, not only with ourselves, but others.
