Testify Newspaper

Everyone with a regular childhood should
know this quote… ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who is the fairest of them all?”
Yep, you got it – this is the notorious quote
spoken by the evil Queen to the Magic Mirror
in the Grimm Brothers most famous fairy
tale: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Growing up, my sisters and I were born actors.
We would playout every scenario imaginable
from the Marx Brothers (I was, of
course, the trumpet-playing curly headed
Harpo) to Cinderella, with her wicked step
mother and ugly sisters. So it was only natural
for us to also become the wicked Queen
and take turns staring into the golden, ornate
mirror hanging pride of place in our
front room and demand to be told, ‘who was
the fairest of us all?’
Needless to say, no one except the voices
in our own imaginations answered. And yet
here we are, decades later, and we still find
ourselves looking for that same magic mirror,
demanding to know the answer to the
same question, ‘who is the fairest of us all?’
Mirror, mirror on the wall...
by Jacqueline Malcolm PES
And when I say ‘we’, I’m no longer referring
to just me and my three sisters – I mean all
of us in modern society. Men, women and
even children – all of us have our own imaginary
mirror to keep in our back pocket and
whip out when our own insecurities or our
own vanities take hold.
We can spend silent hours staring at our
own reflection, asking the question, ‘who is
the fairest of us all?’ Or, to put it in modern
language, ‘how do I measure up to everyone
else?’
Daily, we demand to know: are we prettier
than our classmates? Are we richer than our
neighbours? Are we more successful than
our colleagues? Mirror, mirror on the wall…
The make believe Queen in Snow White
was consumed with vanity. Her mirror was
no more magical than the one hanging in
our bathrooms, and until Snow White came
along, the Queen truly believed she was the
‘fairest’ (the richest, the prettiest, the strongest)
of everyone. It was, in fact, her own vanity
that affirmed her beauty in the same way
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it was her own insecurities and jealousies
that told her she had fallen in rank and was
no longer the most favoured in the kingdom.
It was her own self-loathing and competitiveness
that told her there was someone better
than her, someone prettier than her, someone
more deserving than her.
So my question to you today is simple…
what is your mirror telling you? When you
look at yourself, what do you see? How
do you think you compare to those around
you? Are you pretty enough? Are you rich
enough? Are you young/old enough? Do
you pray enough? Are you… enough?
James 3: 13 – 17 warns us against operating
under a spirit of jealousy and rivalry where
we compare ourselves to others (it’s worth
a read when you have a quiet moment).
Instead, it exhorts us be filled with wisdom
from above that is pure, undefiled, peaceloving
and courteous.
Today, I challenge you, every time you’re
tempted to take out your ‘magic mirror’ and
start comparing yourself to anyone else,
don’t do it. Instead, thank God
for who you are, just as you are.
Thank God for His Son, Jesus
Christ who freely and selflessly
shed His Blood so that you could
have eternal life. Thank God for
His Holy Spirit who abides with
us to teach us, guide us, protect
us, lead us.
I promise you as you start to just
open up to Him just as you are
Jacqueline Malcolm is an author,
playwright, Artistic Director and a Project
& Event Strategist who is dedicated to seeing
the Kingdom of God established here
in London. If you have a theatre or book
project or an event that you would like to
discuss, you can contact her to arrange
your free consultation on
jacquie@jacquelinemalcolmpes.com
For more information, please visit
www.jacquelinemalcolmpes.com.
and not compare yourself to anyone else,
that’s when you will just die to self and will
only care that your life is a true reflection of
His.
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