“Believe in yourself.”
“You do you!”
“Follow your heart!”
Countless Disney movies, signs, self-help books, and especially the LGBTQ community unabashedly promote the same message: “You are most important, therefore you can do whatever you want without consequence because it's YOUR life, YOUR body, YOUR choice.
At first glance, this seems almost rational and, at the very least, alluring. Who wouldn't like to break free and do anything their heart desires without ramifications?
Who wouldn't want to be in charge of their life and break free of hard work, responsibility, and righteousness if we can do whatever we want to find inner peace?
Yet it is a slippery slope Satan himself has created because if our eyes are focused on ourselves, we are turned away from Jesus Christ. Our enemy is delighted when we look inwardly to let our "heart be our guide" for he knows that our heart will only lead us astray.
Denying Yourself to Follow Him
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24.)
This verse is highly offensive to our culture which celebrates wickedness and despises the truth. You don't have to look far to be overwhelmed by the current surge of disasters when we rebel and choose to shake our fists at the one who created all things.
Is it fun, or easy to deny our sinful flesh the cravings it desires? Never! Sin has a way of appearing lovely, when in fact it is the very thing that killed our Savior, therefore if we don’t deny ourselves, things will get ugly and disastrous very fast as you can see in our culture that is blatantly mocking Jesus and following hard after lust and sexual sin.
1 Peter 2:24 tells us, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness." (Emphasis mine). He didn't die for you to continue living in sin. He died so it could be destroyed.
So are we called to Self-Hatred?
But we must tread carefully here. If we die to ourselves, does that mean we are to despise ourselves?
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
God has created each person in His image and we actually dishonor Him if we don't honor Him with the life He has graciously given us. It is possible to care for yourself and follow Christ because He has no desire to see you hate yourself, but to hate your sin.
Putting on our new Self
“Since we have “stripped off the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created it.” (Colossians 3:9-10)
If you are a true believer in Christ, take courage! He has freed you from the chains of self-bondage and sin so that you can live in joy and peace, glorifying His name and showing the world the joy and freedom that comes with serving and loving Him.
"None of Self, and All of Thee"
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).
God’s way to freedom is unpopular, and unwanted by the world, yet it is the only way to life and joy! Denying ourselves is not an easy task, and takes daily faithfulness, yet living for Jesus will be worth everything you will ever give up.
"O, the bitter pain and sorrow that at time could ever be,
When I proudly said to Jesus, ‘All of self, and none of Thee.’
Yet He found me; I beheld Him bleeding on th’accursed tree,
And my wistful heart said faintly, ‘Some of self, and some of Thee.’
Day by day His tender mercy, healing, helping, full and free,
Brought me lower while I whispered, ‘Less of self, and more of Thee.’
Higher than the highest heavens, deeper than the deepest sea,
Lord, Thy love at last has conquered: ‘None of self, and all of Thee.’"
"None of Self and All of Thee" by Theodore Monod
Kommentare