by Joanie Butman
Everyone has an internal dialogue that never stops, which is why it’s essential to be aware of how you are talking to yourself. “According to the National Science Foundation, an average person has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Of those, 80% are negative and 95% are repetitive thoughts.” Why are we so hard on ourselves? The answer lies in whose voice we’re listening to. If your thoughts tend to veer toward self-flagellation, you can be sure they are not from Christ.
Last winter Pampers had a short-lived ad campaign, #SharetheLove, aimed towards new moms who worry they aren't doing a good enough job. It’s an excellent illustration of our self-perception vs. how our children see us. The narration is you are beautiful, you are smart, you are strong, you are kind, you are perfect! Keep in mind, the children in question are infants because I can vouch for the reality that their loving opinions of us don’t last once they reach adolescence. In fact, I’m not sure I could print some of those later opinions in a Christian blog. Let’s just say perfect wasn’t among them.
There is only one source of pure, unconditional love that will never change, and that is Jesus. The not-good-enough syndrome that plagues us stretches well beyond parenthood. Most of us suffer from that malaise to some extent – especially in our spiritual life. However, if you insert Jesus in place of the commercial’s infant, you will tune in to a life-long dialogue that combats our tendency towards self-recriminations, replacing them with positive affirmations through the eyes of our Creator. The Bible is full of Christ’s words of love, mercy, comfort, compassion and kindness. Those are the type of repetitive thoughts we need to memorize so we can take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:5).
Our mind is a battleground. It would be wise to choose to arm ourselves appropriately so we can withstand the ongoing attacks against our confidence in Christ and the power of His work on the cross. There is no stronger weapon against such warfare than the Word of God. Why not choose to build up your arsenal so that you can recognize and dispel the negative thoughts threatening to consume your peace? Only by choosing to accept Christ’s unconditional love, and rooting your identity in that love, can we hope to share it with others. Pampers’ hashtag #SharetheLove would be an excellent call to action for Christians. Who can you choose to share His love with today?
