“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.” (Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT)
You know this, but I’m going to remind you: the person you lie to the most is the person you see every day in the mirror. Yep! That one! And it’s funny because depending on our mood and/or circumstances on any given day, we lie to convince ourselves we’re really good on one day, but later that day or the next, we lie to convince ourselves we’re really not that good after all.
Which is it? Likely neither, but maybe both! Yeh, I get how helpful that is. Seriously, the “lie” we most often tell ourselves is that something is true when it isn’t. For example, the washer breaks and “We need a new house!” Or we have a flat tire and our answer is: “I need a new car!” Or our child breaks something valuable to us and we overreact by berating them, calling them clumsy or stupid, not because they are, but we remember that’s how our parents responded to us.
These are lies exaggerated by our, unfortunately, but easily (under most circumstances) correctable situations. But more tragically, we berate ourselves, calling or implying to ourselves we’re “stupid, clumsy, a bad parent/employee/employer/neighbor/___________.” And maybe we are in a moment, but a moment doesn’t have to translate into a lifetime.
Pastor Rick Warren wisely wrote: “Nothing in your life can change until you know and face the truth. Why? It’s because behind every self-defeating habit in your life is a lie that you believe.” “How am I lying to myself?” You may wonder? One of the most common phrases I used to use in reference to myself was: “You ALWAYS” or “You NEVER” do ______________.“ Whether it had to do with eating, exercising, working late (or not late enough), not reading the Bible, attending church, loving my wife, kids, neighbors, the dog, or the garbage man enough. It was never enough or always done in the wrong way. I believed the lie I was incapable of acting or being any different. But here’s the truth: Because of Jesus anyone can change!
Whatever it is for you, cut yourself some slack. Yes, usually where there’s smoke there’s fire, but exaggerating the truth (lying 😊) isn’t the solution. Start at the beginning, with your walk with Jesus. If you don’t yet know Jesus, that’s the first step. If you don’t have anyone with whom you can speak regarding how to give your life to Jesus, go to Ron Hutchcraft’s the Bridge to God, then follow up by going to his website. Or contact me directly at walkingwithjesus09@gmail.com.
If you have a relationship with Jesus (and “no,” going to church doesn’t constitute a relationship with Jesus 😊). Having a relationship with Jesus involves seeking intimacy with Him often throughout your day – in prayer, reading His Word, studying and memorizing His Word, fellowshipping regularly with other believers in worship and small group settings, sharing Him with others and basically just basking in His presence. And yes, this is a lifelong process. It begins very slowly but accelerates over your lifetime.
That’s the place to begin, because as you read and understand the Bible you’ll better understand yourself. In some ways the Bible is like a mirror in that it shows you ways to conduct yourself and think about yourself that are contrary to what you see or hear in the world (the mirror). It’s not only okay to love yourself, it’s required in order to appropriately love your spouse and children (if you’re married) or others if you’re not.
The bottom line is, the more appropriately we learn to speak truth to ourselves, the more effectively we’re going to be able to receive the Lord’s love for us and allow Him to offer His love more fruitfully through us to others.
And the truth should begin with: “I am a child of God!”
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 