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God has revealed something to me about myself. He has shown me the way that I look Him and the way I look at people and He has shown me just how backwards it has been.

I have spent a long time viewing God as just like me. Now, don't get me wrong, I fully recognize my failure to measure up and have never felt on the same level as God. But I can see that I've looked at Him with the expectation that He will be like me. He will want the things I want. He will be offended by the things that offend me. He will work in this world the way I would because I can so clearly see what would be best in any given situation.

He has been faithfully bringing me to Isaiah 55:8-9. My ways and thoughts are not His. His are higher. Much higher.

One of my favorite songs by Andrew Peterson (on a side note, the number of favorite songs I have by him is equal to the number of songs he has written) is "Just As I Am." You can read all the lyrics here if you want. But one of the lines says "It's the fear that I'll fall one too many times, it's the fear that His love is no better than mine." Even something good about me, love that I have for example, falls extremely short of God's perfection. To expect God to be like me is holding Him to a very low standard.

When it comes to my perspective of other people, I expect them to not be like me at all. Are you seeing just how backwards we're talking here?

Anyway, it was pointed out to me (by a very loving God) that usually when I'm upset or hurt by someone it's because I held them to a standard that I can't live up to myself.

To help explain, I'll share a couple facts about me and then the expectations I have of others.

Me. I sometimes hurt people that I love and don't have a clue that I did because I certainly didn't intend to and completely missed what happened.

Other people always do exactly what they intended to do, and always know exactly what they did.

Me. I sometimes say things in anger or before I've really thought about it, and therefore have said things I don't mean or wish I could take back. And this is true even if I don't verbally express that I wish I could take it back.

Other people always mean exactly what they say and the fact that they said it means that they have in fact thought very long and hard about it so as to say it exactly the way they mean to say it. And if they verbally express that they wish they could take it back? Well, they never really mean that.

Me. I forget things. I forget things that I said and things that I said I'd do. It never has anything to do with how I feel about the person I've let down, I just forget things.

Other people say things and say they'll do things and whether they remember or forget indicates exactly how they feel about me. If they forget it is because they just don't care. Of course, if they just don't care then they didn't really forget, they just didn't want to do what they said they'd do.

I could go on. And on. But I think you get the picture.

I believe in the truth of God's Word and my perspective in this world should reflect that.

God is not like me...His thoughts and ways are higher.
Other people are exactly like me...For all have sinned...