Too Good to be True?
Have you ever been trying on clothes at a store and that outfit looked great in those amazing, magical store mirrors? You even might have thought “You’re looking 10 pounds thinner”! But at home and trying that outfit on, it was like “What was I thinking? What was I seeing?”
And, what about those mirrors at church or other public places? I look in those mirrors and my twin is looking back at me – looking pretty good! I remember telling a friend “You’ve got to go check yourself out in the mirror in the restroom! It’s great lighting in there!” Of course, great in the sense that the imperfections I saw in the mirror at home, weren’t seen in those mirrors.
Here’s the official word: Store mirrors may be designed or placed to make us look thinner. Some stores play tricks to convince us to buy clothes while we’re in the dressing room. The lighting may be one factor, but more likely, it’s the angle of the mirror. Dressing room mirrors are sometimes angled to change the way we look. Stores will often tilt the mirror so the bottom is farther forward than the top which creates the illusion that we are taller and thinner.
The best advice I read was to have someone take a picture of you so you can judge if the outfit or piece of clothing is really flattering or not. It’s not always what we see!
Ever been to a Disney theme park and notice the music playing in the background. Disney put a lot of thought into the music they select for each land or area of their parks. It’s usually somewhat upbeat. Disney wants their guests to be happy and a jaunty melody can affect people’s moods. If people recognize the music, they will hum or sing along and feel comfortable. Maybe we should put on some of that HAPPY music in our homes!
Just think about the ways the world around us is playing mind and body games with us. Sounds like “smoke and mirrors” (distorting the truth) to me. Notice how those who are constantly listening to negative news tend to take on the side of that news — however it’s delivered? Notice how the negativity in our homes often changes a positive mood to a negative one. Notice how a simple sneeze can make us think “I must be catching a cold!”
That’s how the enemy of our souls tries to bring us F.E.A.R.– False Evidence Appearing Real. Those sights and sounds are examples of how we are affected by what we see and hear in our lives. The way a mirror might make us look better or worse; the way music can cause us to be happy enough to move to a beat. That’s the subtleties that the enemy of our souls uses to deceive us.
The same enemy who tried to convince Jesus’ followers that he had died to never live again, is the same enemy that tries to convince us that there is no hope for tomorrow, that we will never recover from this financial setback or illness; that our marriage will never be whole again, that our country is going to hell in a handbasket. That same enemy tries to convince us that we should give up. But here’s the real true MIRROR and the very authentic SOUNDS from God’s Word:
— We are not going under, we’re going over!
— We’re not the tail, we’re the head!
— We’re not going to die, we’re going to live forever!
— And, best new of all….go ahead and read the last chapter of our BOOK….WE WIN!!!