I’m not exactly saying that I’m vane, but any self-respecting parrot always wants to be top bird in the neighbourhood. And I have to say that my plumage this year is even better than normal. I’m adorned by a stunning yellow-orange waistcoat. The green feathers on my back positively shine with the iridescence of a hummingbird. My tail feathers have perfectly aligned growing tips, and my wing feathers are edged with wonderful dark highlights. Yes, I was thinking to myself that I really am, pretty much, the perfect bird, until one of my blog readers sent me this picture of a female chaffinch. And I can’t say I’m very happy about it. There’s always someone out there trying to outdo you!! For this otherwise small, drab and boring bird has made itself a whacky moustache after someone groomed their dog on a back lawn in Barnstaple. And now, I want one as well! Or at least, I did, until my conscience caught up with me and I started to think about Jesus. He probably had a beard and a moustache, because most human men did in his day. But he never attempted to stand out from the crowd, -at least, not in terms of his physical appearance. No, with Jesus, there was never any hint of superficiality or desire for public adoration. It was all about what he was like inside.
The world around us loves to promote image over and above real substance. Even though it won’t be your appearance or your public image that get you into Heaven. And that’s a rather important message for moustached chaffinches and showy parrots like me. In the end, a simple veneer will only flake and crumble. But what we have inside us has the potential to endure and thrive for ever, even if the world doesn’t see it that way. So I must simply bite my beak, and stop admiring myself in the mirror each day!
“Pride that dines on vanity, sups on contempt.”
(Benjamin Franklin [1706 – 1790]: American writer, scientist, statesman and diplomat. One of the founding fathers of the United States)
“It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us.”
(Jane Austen: [1775 – 1817]: Famous British novelist. Quote from ‘Pride and Prejudice’)
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men.” (Jesus speaking in Matthew 6:2)
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