Look in the mirror. You were created to be all that you can be, a wonderful and amazing creation by God Himself (in cooperation with your parents of course) complete with all your gifts, talents, abilities and should you choose to take your giftedness and put it to use in the Lord’s vineyard, you will receive even more and often supernatural gifts and abilities that will help lead many, many others closer to Christ, closer to heaven as you seek to get there yourself. Sometimes a lifetime of others putting us down can cause us not to believe this to be true, but when we enter a deeper and more personal relationship with the Lord, part of that relationship is to see ourselves as God sees us. For some of us it takes a lot of hard work and reflecting in order to get there, but it’s a huge breakthrough when we do. Looking into the mirror you should see what God sees, and give yourself to God you should see that you are created in his image and likeness. Now look in the mirror again, this time look behind what you first see; there are others there. There are many, many others and they are not insignificant to the greater, deeper picture. They too are all that you are. Although different from you perhaps they are wonderful, amazing, chosen, created in the image and likeness of God. Just as it took a lot of hard work and reflection to see yourself, at least in part measure as God sees you, it might take even more work, harder reflection to see the others as God sees them – but we must try. We must try because otherwise we will fall into the trap that our Gospel in part speaks about today. We will want higher place, we will demand ourselves as priority, and we will see ourselves as better than other people. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we need both perspectives here: humility is not thinking we’re crappy or no good; it’s having a healthy perspective that includes a necessary sense of self worth and a great sense of the worthiness of others. We will allow the Lord to choose who takes the higher seat, and we will rejoice then when He does.   May God bless you.