My sermon to graduates.

Once again, in this time of graduations I am compelled to think about self-image, or self-esteem, and how it impacts the world around us.

Most graduates have an image in their heads of “what they want to be” when they grow up, but very few, if any, have an image of “who they want to be.” Thus, as they get older they end up stripping away their ideology and spending more and more time and energy trying to manufacture the image that has always been in their head. Collecting all the material items that will enable them to become the “what” they always wanted to be.

Our environment and society is drowning from this perspective. Too many people are ignoring the warning signs flashing right in front of their faces about how the world is falling apart. They tell themselves that their lawn must be green and perfect, because that is how the image of themselves appears in their mind. To achieve this they apply hundreds of pounds of chemicals and waste thousands of gallons of water even though they consciously know they should not. But they do not know what else to do. They are not even aware that there are other options available to them. (They know there are other options, but not ones that are available to them.) They have been thouroughly conditioned to pursue an material image of “what” they want to be. Basically, they objectify themselves.

Instead, it would be better and more sustainable if a person built an image of “who” they wanted to be. They would make a list, “I am a person who values fairness. I am a person who wants to provide for my family. I am a person who cares about the environment. (… and so on.)” With this image of themselves they would be able to adapt to the environment around them as it changed. They would be able to see the changes happening and respond by altering the material aspects of their own lives. They might start out with the traditional perfect green lawn, but since their self image is not based on the appearance of a “normal” lawn they would not have a problem making alterations when they learn that grass fertilizer and weed killers are the number two non-industrial polluters of our water. (Number one being road runoff.) And, when the economy shifts and they have to find a new career, or any work available, they will have an easier time making the adjustment, since a “person who provides for their family” is much more flexible than an “attorney with a corner office.”

No one can predict the future, so stubbornly insisting that the future must be a certain way to abide our self-image is enslaving ourselves to the material world. However, at the same time, if we do not have an image of who we are held firmly in our minds we are likely to be abused and taken advantage of. (This is not to say we should never alter our image of ourselves. Throughout our lives we are constantly discovering new things about ourselves and exploring new boundaries to our identities.)

Ultimately, our imagination is an extremely powerful tool. Use it responsibly.