I like to be out photographing on the edges of the day because that is the time wildlife is most active. Just as the sun was setting, this fellow flew into view and perched on a nearby branch. This is a kingfisher, a little bird with a big head. I have seen kingfishers swallow fish so big I don't know how they managed to get them down. Their big heads must be matched by equally big stomachs. For these birds, big heads are appropriate. For us, they are not. Swelled heads and inflated egos are signs of pride, a sin which seems to be universal among humans. And, as C. S. Lewis once pointed out, if we say we have no pride it is proof that we in fact actually do. Pride is a sin of comparison. It inflates itself by comparing what we think our strengths are against what we see in others as their weaknesses. It is our way of feeling superior by overestimating ourselves and underestimating others. It destroys empathy and turns compassion into pity. It gives validity to the accusation that all Christians are self-righteous. But Jesus commands another way of living. He tells us to practice humility, to regard others better than ourselves, to build up the broken and lift up the fallen. In fact, if we wish to be great we must become servants, we must recognize the sin in ourselves before we dare to point out the sin in others. We must be known for our love to the unloved and for our gentleness of spirit. In other words, when others see us they should see a reflection of Jesus, not a reflection of our own egos. Big heads belong on kingfishers, not Christians.   -  John