A Brewed Awakening
“You can be the most beautiful person in the world and everybody sees light and rainbows when they look at you, but if you yourself don’t know it, all of that doesn’t even matter. Every second that you spend on doubting your worth, every moment that you use to criticize yourself; is a second of your life wasted, is a moment of your life thrown away. It’s not like you have forever, so don’t waste any of your seconds, don’t throw even one of your moments away.” ― C. Joy Bell C.
We all have a natural tendency to cling to what is negative, remember the hurtful words and past failure as if they happened yesterday but dismiss what is good, creative and caring about who we are and what we’ve done. We all have an inner dialog with ourselves that is often degrading and demoralizing. We don’t step up and we don’t step out for fear that our faults will be discovered.
The vast majority of marketing is based on feeding this inner negative dialogue. You aren’t pretty enough so you need these new clothes, better make-up, or sexy body type to be acceptable, which of course few of us do. The same goes with success, status, and a general feeling of significance.
Self-worth is not something you can obtain from a world that is confused about its own value, purpose and direction. We’re like hamsters on a wheel, running faster and faster chasing a goal that will never come.
Instead we should rise above the world’s aimless pursuits of power and prestige and ask God, creator of all that is, why we were made, where we’re going and what He thinks of us and the lives we made. Here’s a few Bible passages to consider.
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. [Psalm 139:13-14]
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, [Psalm 8:3-6]
REFLECT
(1) What is your self-image? (mostly positive or mostly negative)
(2) Does this image come from inside your head or from others?
(3) Change the internal dialogue? Say positive things to yourself about yourself. (i.e. I’m good, kind and creative!)
(4) Stop hanging out with a Negative Nancy or Depressing Dan. Find those who are moving in a positive direction and go with the flow.
…wise comments and encouraging thoughts.
I am one, and I am sure that I don’t stand alone as being “my own worst enemy.”
…and I must admit that for the longest time, reminding myself that I am “fearfully and wonderfully made” and of worth and value to others and, especially, to God, was counter to the humility, that in my mind, Christians were expected to display about themselves.
…but in time, I have learned and been reminded to the point of believing and thinking by you, my brother, and a few others that negative and self-pitying thoughts are weapons used by the “prowling lion” to divert my thoughts from being concerned about and helping others and that, in the long-run, I am insulting God when I find fault with and, therefore, insult myself.
Other people cannot put me or you or anyone else down unless we allow it; and we allow it when we don’t like who we are, when we don’t love who we are, and when we don’t believe and know that God likes and loves us unconditionally, no matter our imperfections.
Remember the song lyric practically all of us sang as children: “Yes, Jesus loves me”?
He does, you know.
Thank you for reminding us that, indeed, God wants, as well as expects, us to “rise up to a higher self-worth.”