Would you still be lovable if you lost your job? If you gained twenty pounds? Would you be worth knowing even if you weren’t a gourmet cook or a triathlete? Is there something inside of you that transcends your great sense of style and your ability to speak French? Are you more than your career, your looks, and the number of likes on your last Facebook post?
you're more than your checklist
you're more than your checklist
No not the checklist for other people. The checklist for yourself.
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vorpal blade
- Posts: 1750
- Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:08 pm
- Location: New Jersey
Re: you're more than your checklist
I agree with you Portia that you are the checklist for yourself.
There is a lot one could say about this subject. On the one hand I know a lot of people who sell themselves short, so on their personal checklist they don't score. "Am I as beautiful as Audrey Hepburn? If not then I am ugly," seems to be the thinking of some people. "I am not religious because I don't pray three times a day with sincerity. I did for the last three weeks, but before that I missed one time in the last year, so I cannot say I pray as often as I should." Some of us tend to set our criteria too high and thus don't consider ourselves good looking, religious, smart, talented, kind, loving, generous, patient, and so forth. If you will, I'd say that we are no more and no less than the checklist God has for us.
On the other hand, some people seem to have an exaggerated opinion of themselves, or they assume that one good trait compensates for a lot of bad ones. A person may be good-looking and think that is sufficient. No need to be a loving, caring person who is kind and gracious and tries to make others feel good. Unfortunately I see a lot in our culture to reinforce that idea. Commercials sell the idea that we can be loved and appreciated if we only wear the right clothes, drink the right beverage, or have the right look. It seems like in every show I watch some guy is dying to go out with a girl that he just met. He knows nothing about her except what his eyes tell him. It is as though that should be sufficient. And the beauty industry wants you to think so to. And it might be true that most guys judge a book by the cover.
What is the value of an object? Only what others are willing to pay for it. In that sense you are no more than what is on someone else's checklist.
I recently read The Hunger Games. Some great guys really wanted to be with Katniss. But after I finished reading the books I had to ask myself, what was worthwhile about Katniss? She could hunt and kill people. The only persons she cared about was herself and her sister Prim. So, why was she desirable?
There is a lot one could say about this subject. On the one hand I know a lot of people who sell themselves short, so on their personal checklist they don't score. "Am I as beautiful as Audrey Hepburn? If not then I am ugly," seems to be the thinking of some people. "I am not religious because I don't pray three times a day with sincerity. I did for the last three weeks, but before that I missed one time in the last year, so I cannot say I pray as often as I should." Some of us tend to set our criteria too high and thus don't consider ourselves good looking, religious, smart, talented, kind, loving, generous, patient, and so forth. If you will, I'd say that we are no more and no less than the checklist God has for us.
On the other hand, some people seem to have an exaggerated opinion of themselves, or they assume that one good trait compensates for a lot of bad ones. A person may be good-looking and think that is sufficient. No need to be a loving, caring person who is kind and gracious and tries to make others feel good. Unfortunately I see a lot in our culture to reinforce that idea. Commercials sell the idea that we can be loved and appreciated if we only wear the right clothes, drink the right beverage, or have the right look. It seems like in every show I watch some guy is dying to go out with a girl that he just met. He knows nothing about her except what his eyes tell him. It is as though that should be sufficient. And the beauty industry wants you to think so to. And it might be true that most guys judge a book by the cover.
What is the value of an object? Only what others are willing to pay for it. In that sense you are no more than what is on someone else's checklist.
I recently read The Hunger Games. Some great guys really wanted to be with Katniss. But after I finished reading the books I had to ask myself, what was worthwhile about Katniss? She could hunt and kill people. The only persons she cared about was herself and her sister Prim. So, why was she desirable?