Your GLORY: that distinctive, notable quality (or qualities) you possess that sets you apart and warrants praise and honor from others.

You possess gifts, talents, or attributes that you may give little thought to or may be completely unaware of.

Some individuals, admiring what they see in you, strive to imitate you. Others, drawing inspiration from what they observe in you, aspire to become better people.

And then there are the ones, burning with envy, who strive to dim your light. They don’t find you worthy of distinction, so they try to belittle and humiliate you to make you irrelevant. Or to make you believe you are.

Insecure people can get threatened by seemingly insignificant things. Like the way you do your hair or the way you dress; your arrangement of colors, your style, the way you express yourself. Your haters can be put off by how often you smile, your charming or charismatic way with people.

Some, consumed with jealousy, gnash their teeth at the attention you get when you enter a room or the praise you receive on your job. They hate that you seem to prosper in everything you do.

You, on the other hand, may take all these qualities for granted, perhaps because you know you’re not perfect. You have your own set of issues you struggle with everyday. And you may believe glory is only attained after you’ve accomplished something great. You may not realize or acknowledge all that you’ve already achieved.

You are already making a difference, impacting somebody’s life.

And because you don’t recognize these “little” qualities or attributes as relevant, you don’t think to guard them. It never occurs to you someone might envy or hate you because of them. You’re shocked and confused when someone attacks or attempts to sabotage you for no apparent reason.

But understand this:

If a person goes out their way to shrink you, they undoubtedly see something in you that threatens them. They see you bigger than you see yourself.

So, guard your glory — protect all that makes you you. If you don’t, you leave yourself vulnerable to your adversaries (Believe me, you definitely have them). And you may find out too late that you were already wearing a crown.

— D.L. Lunsford