Friday, May 4, 2012

God's Image or Yours?

         

     We are continuing our look at low self worth this week. If you are a new reader, you will benefit a lot from this post but I encourage you to read the last post titled,  What's Behind Your Mask  to identify even more negative behaviors and hidden issues. Just click on the blue title to go directly to the page.  Did you answer the questions to see if you have any hidden low self worth in my last blog?  It’s surprising, isn’t it?  Oh but wait, we have more questions.  I know, I know, and you thought we were done.   Below are some questions from the author, June Hunt, that I believe will be helpful.  Some of the questions have been revised.  Don’t answer according to how you know you should be or wished you could be but instead, answer truthfully and honestly.  Nobody’s listening to your thoughts or your heart but you and God.  


     Inner Insecurities
Ø  I am self-critical and have feelings of self-loathing
Ø  I am fearful of failure and avoid risk-taking
Ø  I am overly affected by the opinions of others and strive to meet their standards
Ø  I am undeserving of and yet desperate for the approval of others
Ø  I am unhappy with my appearance and achievements
Ø  I am negligent of my appearance
Ø  I am unable to set appropriated boundaries
Ø  I am ashamed of my background which causes me to struggle with depression
Ø  I am controlled by a victim mentality
Ø  I am inferior and feel incompetent when compared to others

Relational Roadblocks
Ø  I am overly critical and distrustful of others 
Ø  I am demanding and unforgiving of others
Ø  I am defensive when confronted
Ø  I am argumentative and resistant to authority
Ø  I am undeserving of /or unable to accept compliments
Ø  I am afraid to get close to people and establish intimacy
Ø  I am a peace-at-all-costs people pleaser
Ø  I am reluctant to express my true feelings
Ø  I am hesitant to accept responsibility for my wrongs
Ø  I am often afraid to defend myself
 
     
      Did you answer yes to any of these?  If so, then you have rejection and low self worth issues.  Even if you hear yourself saying, “I’m just a little like that,” the problem is still there.  How would you react to a fly, roach, or hair in your food?  They are small problems but I’m sure you would do what it takes to correct the situation, wouldn’t you?  So then, I encourage you to approach this the same way.  Even if you feel that you do one or some of these on a small scale, it needs to be handled so a positive change can occur. Be very honest with yourself. 
  
      For most of my life, I sought after the approval of others and discovered that I was a really big people pleaser.  I didn’t know that it was from low self worth.  I had a fly in my food and didn’t see him there.   I thought that I was just a giving, compassionate person, and that I loved to help others.  The reality of it all was that I needed that pat on the back and to hear, “Good job” so that I would feel needed, wanted, validated, and that I mattered.  Another problem I had is I was overly sensitive and would get my feelings hurt easily and would get angry at the person who hurt me.  I hated feeling that way, especially being so sensitive, argumentative, and defensive. Why couldn’t I just feel settled in my own skin?  Not only did it steal peace from my heart, I was seeing the negative affects it had in my relationships with others.  God didn’t create me to be this way and something had to change.  It’s so hard to listen to people excuse their behaviors by saying, “Well, I can’t help it, that’s just the way I am.”  What about this one, “I’m a red head, I can’t help it,” or “I’m Italian, that’s just the way we are.”  Or to hear, “Don’t get mad at me, God made me this way!”  No He didn’t. Don’t buy into this lie and accept it.  If you do, you can’t change it because you are training your mind to accept it and therefore, will not feel the need for change.  Think about this, He created us in His image.  So does your image line up with God’s image? 

Genesis  5:1 ~ This is the written account of Adam's line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.

     What is the likeness, image of God?  God is a just and loving God.  The Bible tells us that God is Love.  First Corinthians Chapter 13 is known as the love chapter and I like to use it as self inventory to see if I am living my life as a loving person which helps me to single out any negative behaviors that need attention.  What is love?  According to verses 4-8, Love is patient, kind, doesn’t’ boast and is not proud, doesn’t dishonor others, is not selfish, not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.

   I always share a tool with you so that you can begin to make the changes you desire. This week’s tool is geared toward helping you investigate your thinking and to compare your behaviors to the Word of God.  Make a note where you fall short and prepare your heart to be open for change by acknowledging that there is a problem, a fly in your food.  Maybe you have a lot of flies or some flies are bigger than others.  Don’t accept any negative behaviors as being normal and the way you were made but understand that life’s challenges, circumstances, and your environment have sculpted you into the image you are today.  Any negative input has stolen any parts of God’s image from you and taken your peace of mind and your heart with it.  Strive to learn about who He is, His attributes and take back what was stolen.  Reclaim what God created in you before your first breath was taken after you entered this world!  Accept nothing less than how He truly created you and then, only then, will you begin to experience more peace and settle in your heart your acceptance and worth.  Whose image do you desire most, God's image or yours?

   Next week, we will look at rejection and how it can become a cycle of more rejection.  Low self worth and rejection work together against us.  In the next few blogs, we will continue to learn  how to recognize  signs that we have  self worth issues and feelings of rejection to deal with and gain control over them through acknowledgement then healing can occur.  I leave you this week with this scripture about peace in our hearts:


Colossians 3:15  ~ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.


2 comments:

  1. Another great message my friend! Thank you for sharing all your wisdom with the bloggy world. I really like how you used the example of a fly being in your food. Keep up the good work! :)

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  2. Maybe the title should have been, "Hey Lord, There's a Fly In My Soup!"

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