Filthy Rags

Wednesday 5/15/2013 4:27 AM

Having grown up in the Christian Reformed Church I am intimately familiar with guilt and shame.  Singing hymns with the words “such a worm as I” and hearing about my works being “filthy rags” – we didn’t talk about menstrual cloths in those days – did little to boost my self-esteem.  Any thoughts I expressed regarding something I had done well were met with the phrase, “let another man’s lips praise thee and not thine own.”  Any pride I had in a job well done was hammered down so that I would not become uppity.

Today it seems the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction.  Everyone is wonderful and above average.  When awards are given out at the end of a sports season every player receives one.  Even mediocre work is praised as being good, excellent or superior.  There is great care given to make sure that each person is affirmed and encouraged.

As a teacher I cringe when people suggest that each student must be praised for his effort, feeble as it may be.  I want my students to excel and reach their highest potential.  I know this only comes through hard work and effort.  I believe that settling for less than one’s best diminishes the person.  I believe that true self-esteem is achieved through accomplishing a goal through hard work and dedication, not by the hollow praise of mediocrity.

Today I read these words from Julian of Norwich: Showings.  “For Jesus has great joy in all the deeds which he has done for our salvation. … We are his bliss, we are his reward, we are his honor, we are his crown.”  It is humbling to think that Jesus receives joy and satisfaction when he looks at my life.  From my perspective there are too many filthy rags to make anyone blissful.  Evidently the lessons I learned back in my childhood were learned well.