With two boys and two girls ranging from 9 to 17, I’ve become increasingly aware of a powerful message (aka: lie) infiltrating today’s society – even among Christian circles. I myself have fallen captive to it.
Here’s what it sounds like:
- “You are enough!”
- “Self-love is so important!”
- “You are beautiful and deserve good things.”
- “Follow your heart!”
Sound familiar?
Don’t get me wrong. Instilling the proper identity into our kids at a young age should be of utmost importance to us. But, the foundation of that identity should never consist of them being ‘enough.’ Well, because they’re not.
What’s going to happen when your child starts looking within him or herself to find the strength, answers, capacity we all search for in any given situation? Talk about setting someone up to fail!
When I follow this flawed rationale, I will time and again get smacked in the face with my own pitiful inadequacies. But when I acknowledge that I, in my own strength, DON’T have what it takes to excel at this thing called life, I embrace something so beautiful: Total dependency on the One who does.
Only then do I develop a desire to be with God each day as He meets my every need. Only then do I feel a wonderful release from the pressure to be everything to everyone and fulfill my greatest dreams before age 40. (Although, that ship has sailed!) And perhaps most importantly, only then do I honor and appreciate the sacred, holy, sacrificial death of Jesus and what that means for me…today. In other words, if I’m enough, then why did He have to die?
I’m so grateful my girls are being raised in a society that will value them as women. I’m hopeful about the open doors and opportunities they will enjoy because of the landscape of today’s society. But my fear is that this self- glorifying culture will only make these false messages more enticing… more accepted… more justified.
Today, I want to encourage you to follow Jesus’ example of combating lies with the timeless, unchanging TRUTH of His Word.
Let’s take a look:
You are enough! (Or not!)
It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 2 Corinthians 3:5 (NLT)
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 (NLT)
Self-love is so important! (Hmm how about self-denial?)
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. Luke 9:23-24 (NLT)
Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Psalm 119:36 (NIV)
You are beautiful and deserve good things. (Says who?)
The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt.No one does good, not a single one! Psalm 14:2-3 (NLT)
We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind. Isaiah 64:6(NLT)
Follow your heart! ( …if you want to be drastically led astray!)
The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT)
But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. Matthew 15:18, 19 (NLT)
What comfort to know and understand that it. is. not. up. to. YOU!
Simply surrender to the living Christ who lives in you and HE will be faithful to finish the work He started in you.
Rachel Jankovic, author of You Who? Why you matter and how to deal with it, says it this way:
“There are no words to convey how deep and real and free this comfort and love is. This is rest. This is joy. This is victory. This is actual life. But it is not the comfort of little lies about how beautiful we are or about how much we deserve happiness; it is the comfort of seeing the true nature of our Savior and his love for us. It is not our beauty but his that we should be captivated by. In him, our flesh is nailed to the cross. In him, it dies. In him, we can truly live without guilt and without shame…”
So, Mom–feeling like you’re not enough? You’re not. Breathe a huge sigh of relief and thank God you don’t have to be.
HE IS!
Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 4:13-14
