I recently had to confront the man in the mirror over an inconsistency I’d seen in him.   He had encountered a human behaving in a way that was unjust, untoward, deceitful, manipulative and presumptious.  He felt great anger and indignation over what he saw, and decided to confront this human.  Now, mind you, the man in the mirror genuinely values honesty, kindness, compassion, and the intelligent exchange of ideas.  However, in this particular circumstance the man in the mirror apparently forgot where he put all those things, and just got mad.  He spoke truth, but not “in love”.  And amazingly enough, he seemed to think that because this other human was “out of bounds”, he was somehow free to also step “out of bounds” to deal with it.  WRONG.

So, in my counsel to the man in the mirror I admonished him to remember that he cannot allow the behavior of another person to dictate his own.  I reminded him that while anger can certainly be justified, the expression of that anger must be carefully considered.  Further, I told him sternly that he doesn’t get a free pass to be a jerk just because someone else is being a jerk.  I told him that the true test of his convictions and values would always be when they were actually challenged; then he would find out what he really valued. 

My sage wisdom seemed to be just the thing the man in the mirror needed to hear, and he vowed to do better next time.  I warned him, however, that I would be holding him accountable for his behavior in these matters, and that his wife, children, and many others would be watching as well.  I know he struggles at times with being consistent in living out what he truly believes, but he is making some progress.   Actually, he reminds me a little of me.