When I think about love in today's society I think about how abused the word is. We meet someone and at the end of that same day we say "I love you!" and act like we genuinely do. Yes, I bet said guy or girl is pretty great, but do you really love them? Also, we use the word Love too lightly in regards to materialistic things. "I love my new shoes, pants, shirt, etc." We even do this with food! Do you really love that chipotle or is it just very good? Maybe chipotle was a bad example, because I think I may genuinely love chipotle, but that is beside the point. The God we worship is love. If you want to define God or describe him in one word God is love. With God being love I most certainly do not think we can put materialistic things,other people, or food on even close to the same level as God. That is absurd.
To be completely honest, I am constantly looking for love in the wrong places and giving love to the wrong things. Love is meant for God and for people, this is our Lord's biggest commandment. I struggle with seeking love from people alone and not from a God who never stops loving me. That would be too easy right? To accept love from my everlasting God who never stops giving it?
I am obsessed with looking for love from everyone else. I feel the need to gain the approval of everyone around me and do whatever it takes to please man. I am not on this earth to please man and my efforts should be invested in pleasing Christ not man. I find myself saying or doing certain things to make people like love me. God loves me and if I be myself and pray that God works through me people will love me too and I will not need to seek and obsess over their approval. Seeking out man is like putting man above God and I do not worship man, so why do I want man to love me so much?
Speaking of man loving me, this is another struggle I have to admit. I look for love in relationships with the opposite sex to make me feel whole. Relationships are an amazing thing that using a guy to complete you will never work. I have been in several relationships and they failed because I was seeking out a selfish love that I was using to make me feel good about myself. Relationships are meant to glorify God and his love together as believers, NOT this "you complete me" stuff. It may sound romantic, but it's a joke. Only God's love can complete you-- no one elses.
Ladies, I do not want to discourage you. It's great to be loved and to give love, but do it with God's will in mind. Do it while trying to seek after God's heart. God loves you and are purpose on this earth is to love him and find love in him, not things of this earth. Let the almighty God complete you. You can fulfill this if you recognize that you have a God that loves you and always will. We have this amazing never changing God that wants to consume you with his love, you just have to let him-- and not let someONE or someTHING else.
Love Wins,
Emily I.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Two-Facedness
I'm sorry for the delay and the fact that this will be a very short and somewhat scatter-brained lesson. This week we'll be continuing with the topic of issues that arise from poor self-image. As you probably guessed from the title, our focus for the week is on two-facedness.
We all know people we would call two-faced. Right now, we even have a new villain in an awesome movie whose name is Two-Face. It's not a term that we use as a compliment. Yet as much as we dislike people who are two-faced it's something that's hard to avoid in our own actions.
When I find myself acting dramatically different around different sets of people, it's usually out of a desire to fit in, fill a certain niche, or feel liked. This could demonstrate a lack of confidence in my actual personality.
Acting different around every group of people leads others to wonder which personality is really yours, and you could easily lose the people you changed yourself to fit in with.
Let me clarify something at this point. It is reasonable that there are certain things you do around some people and not around others. For example, I talk a lot more when I'm around certain people because I'm more comfortable with them, and I talk about slightly different topics with different people based on their interest and knowledge. Talking about new shoes with female friends rather than male friends is not two-facedness, it's sensible. Being a little more odd around your friends than you are around your family is not a crime.
We all know people we would call two-faced. Right now, we even have a new villain in an awesome movie whose name is Two-Face. It's not a term that we use as a compliment. Yet as much as we dislike people who are two-faced it's something that's hard to avoid in our own actions.
When I find myself acting dramatically different around different sets of people, it's usually out of a desire to fit in, fill a certain niche, or feel liked. This could demonstrate a lack of confidence in my actual personality.
Acting different around every group of people leads others to wonder which personality is really yours, and you could easily lose the people you changed yourself to fit in with.
Let me clarify something at this point. It is reasonable that there are certain things you do around some people and not around others. For example, I talk a lot more when I'm around certain people because I'm more comfortable with them, and I talk about slightly different topics with different people based on their interest and knowledge. Talking about new shoes with female friends rather than male friends is not two-facedness, it's sensible. Being a little more odd around your friends than you are around your family is not a crime.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Self-Image and Materialism
What comes to mind when you hear the word self-image? The word itself is pretty much self-explanatory - it's how you see yourself. But we hear this word tossed around so often, that it is in danger of becoming just another cliche term used for marketing and pep talks. It has been suggested that poor self-image is at the root of most - if not all - issues in the lives of females. Sounds pretty important, right? This month we'll be addressing a few problems that arise from poor self-image, and next month will be devoted to the truth about who we are and how we should see ourselves. Our self-image should be based on how God sees us. There really is no other adequate foundation on which to base our opinions of ourselves. Fortunately, God has a lot of good things to say about how he sees us. But I don't want to steal Jenny's thunder for next month, so let's move on to this month's issue.
Nevermind. I have one more thing to say. Even if what we discuss during these next weeks doesn't relate to your struggles, it's important that you know about how to deal with them in order to help others. In Hebrews, we are told to encourage one another so that we won't be deceived (Hebrews 3:13). Poor self-image is something we need to help pull our siblings in Christ out of.
Now it's time for this week's topic: materialism. The dictionary defines materialism as "attention or emphasis on material objects, needs, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual values." When a person has no conifidence in their own personality, appearance, identity, or what-have-you, they can easily be driven to materialism. They may believe that they can earn respect or comrades through impressive possessions or the right look. When you think about it, this idea doesn't hold much water. Any respect you would earn would be respect for your stuff, not for yourself. Upon realizing this, the person's self-esteem would drop even lower, and they would likely fall into a cycle of trying ineffective ways of raising their self-image.
Their are three main shortcomings of materialism.
Nevermind. I have one more thing to say. Even if what we discuss during these next weeks doesn't relate to your struggles, it's important that you know about how to deal with them in order to help others. In Hebrews, we are told to encourage one another so that we won't be deceived (Hebrews 3:13). Poor self-image is something we need to help pull our siblings in Christ out of.
Now it's time for this week's topic: materialism. The dictionary defines materialism as "attention or emphasis on material objects, needs, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual values." When a person has no conifidence in their own personality, appearance, identity, or what-have-you, they can easily be driven to materialism. They may believe that they can earn respect or comrades through impressive possessions or the right look. When you think about it, this idea doesn't hold much water. Any respect you would earn would be respect for your stuff, not for yourself. Upon realizing this, the person's self-esteem would drop even lower, and they would likely fall into a cycle of trying ineffective ways of raising their self-image.
Their are three main shortcomings of materialism.
- It's impractical.
It costs a lot of money to keep at the front of fashion and technology to keep the respect that your possessions lend you. No matter how much you have, you'll have to keep accumulating more. (Ecclesiastes 5:10) - It's transient.
Nothing material lasts. Things break or get lost. Plus, the "friendships" you build based on your stuff will wink out of existence as soon as your stuff leaves. (Luke 12:15-21, Matthew 6:19-21, 1 John 2:17) - It's distracting.
Focusing on material things will take your focus away from God, the source of your life, salvation, and true self-image. This separation will hurt both you and God. (Matthew 6:24, Luke 8:14, 1 John 2:15-16)
How should one go about getting rid of materialism? One solution is to "starve" it out. Fast from shopping, media, make-up, or some other material commodity. It will help break bad habits, and you may realize that you prefer life with more simplicity. Come up with your own challenges to bring yourself or others out of a materialistic mindset.
I love you all, and you're in my prayers.
-Maria
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