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| Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up |
I was reading an article today about a well-known TV personality wherein said personality disclosed the use of Botox (and multiple plastic surgeries) to try to maintain a more youthful look. The personality mentioned a bad Botox experience one time that had not only affected this person’s “bad side” but also caused a problem on the “good side.”
When we hear those two terms, we usually think about a person’s facial profile… as in “the right side of my profile is my good side.”
Good side, bad side.
(First off, when talking appearance, maybe a more positive viewpoint would be “good side/ better side?”) But I digress.
The article’s reference to good side/ bad side got me thinking beyond facial profiles.
Do all of us have a good side and a bad side?
How about with our demeanor?
What about the way we treat people?
How about how we handle conflict?
How about the way we live our life?
How about our business/work side versus our home/ personal side?
Are there two persons living inside each of us?
We all have seen people, when having their picture taken, turn a certain way relative to the camera or phone so as to show what they perceive to be their “good side.”
But don’t we also do the same thing with other aspects of our life?
Don’t we try to hide our “bad side?”
A favorite Christian songwriter of mine from back in the day is Bruce Carroll. In the 90s he recorded a song called “Shadow and Light.”
One of the verses says this:
” I am wise, I am a fool
A servant with a yen to rule
Good intentions and selfish schemes
A saint who soars on broken wings
Noble visions and narrow eyes
Contradictions side by side
Ogres and angels share my heart
Sometimes the battle tears me apart.”
We’ve all been there. Or are there.
Good side/ bad side. A life of shadow and light.
Depending on the width of this good side/bad side spectrum, our ability to cope, justify, explain, sleep at night, maintain relationships… greatly varies.
We can become overly fixated on our bad side. We can feel guilty, embarrassed, ashamed, and unworthy. We may feel like a fraud. Guess what? On some level, this is all of us.
To be sure, there may be aspects of our life and behavior that need serious examination and change.
While we should not fixate solely on our bad side, neither should we rest on our good side laurels.
We are obligated to acknowledge our human imperfection and strive to do better each day. Some of this might require some third-party help.
Bruce’s song goes on to say this:
“I am shadow, I am light
I am wrong and I am right
Sometimes shining oh so bright
Sometimes fading into night
Though You see this war in me
You know all that I can be
I am precious in Your sight
You walk with me through shadow and light.”
The “You” that Bruce references is the God Who created us and understands just who and where we are.
And He loves us despite ourselves.
Maybe some one-on-One conversation with Him about what you see as your good and bad side can help.
It has helped me.
“Shadow and Light” by Bruce Carroll
Songwriter(s): Paula Carpenter, Mark Comden, Geoff Thurman
Record Label: ©1995 Word Entertainment LLC, A Warner Curb Company
