Day 22 - Love First: In the Face of Feeling Inferior

Love First: In the Face of Feeling Inferior

...Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, "Do you want to get well?" The sick man said, "Sir, when the water is stirred, I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in."
John 5:2-7 (The Message)

An inferiority complex is a general feeling of not being "up to the mark." Most of us accept without problem that we don’t have the financial acumen of Bill Gates, the brilliant intellect of Stephen Hawking, or the physical capabilities of Usain Bolt. True inferiority has more to do with us feeling like we should be as good as others and feeling like we're not and we don't know why.

I used to wonder why, in the story above, Jesus asked the man if he wanted to get well. That seems to me to be a no-brainer. But Jesus did ask him. The man’s response was not as straightforward as you’d expect. Instead of shouting, "YES!" the man gave an excuse—at least it seems like an excuse to me. The man had been an invalid for thirty-eight years! I don't know whether he’d been laying by the pool that long or not. But he'd been laying there long enough to feel defeated about ever getting in the pool. Yet he still lay there.

The challenge to overcome feelings of inferiority or the challenge to help someone else overcome those feelings is more difficult than it would seem. Other faces of inferiority include feeling inadequate, feeling weak, having deficits that seem insurmountable, feeling insufficient, and having feelings of shortcoming. One thing we can see is that you can't just wish the feelings away—this man had been down for thirty-eight years!

There are some who deal with these feelings by being domineering to prove that they are better than others. There are others who tried to fade into obscurity, continually telling themselves, "I'm not good enough" or "I'm worthless."

Choosing to live Love First in the face of feeling inferior is not without its challenges. Helping others to face those feelings of inferiority is not without its challenges. But Love First demands our action.

Your Mission
Think about those who are oppressed and put down around you. Find a way to be an advocate for someone who needs help today.