Think Well of Yourself!

I know, I know, I cannot let this topic rest. If you read my recent blog concerning ownership of your own thoughts and how you decide what it is you will and will not think about, then it is only logical that as a part of that process you would begin to see the importance of thinking well of yourself. You would think that thinking well of yourself would be something natural and effortless, you being the only you, you have. But sadly that is not always the case. It seems the real culprit in this human dilemma is that built-in judge forever focusing you in the direction of your flaws and shortcomings. The judge or as some may say, the accuser’s sole purpose is to find fault with the things you do, to get you to focus on any and all mistakes you have ever made and to push you into deeper and deeper self-analysis leading always to a worse and more miserable state. Human beings have fallen prey to it for as long as there have been people on Earth. It is the universal, negative catch-all. The internal defeat mechanism. The divider of the soul. It is one of the single greatest factors at work in all people to bring them spiraling down, to reduce their capabilities and gifts, to steal their enthusiasm for living, to make them feel less, far less than they actually are. Understanding the function of this insider, this wicked despot can mean the difference between a happy and an unhappy life. Not understanding it and its deceptive work leads to a life of bondage and slavery, forever subject to its claims and forever working to improve that which cannot be improved. Yet all can be made right simply by refusing to answer its accusations and as a result, thinking well of yourself.

If you are like most people, and I’m guessing you are, then you can recognize this process going on in your mind. It is that voice you may have wrongly assumed comes from God that points out your wrongs or even potential wrongs with the implied notion that you are forever in need of repair and remedy. Being human you feel as if you can figure it out and you do so by analyzing yourself in painful detail, evaluating yourself with the associated comparison to others and finally judging yourself naturally as unworthy. You falsely think that if others could see how rotten you really are they would surely reject you and dismiss you immediately. And, the only reason you would ever consider yourself to be “rotten” is because someone or something talked you into it. Someone or something pointed out some standard or rule you are reportedly violating and talked you into a wrong conclusion; a self-negating conclusion. That is not to say that we are above mistakes (and thinking such would also be a mistake), but rather that we have the tendency to focus in our mistakes more than the things we do right. Then attach God and morality into the equation and you have a perfect recipe for not only beating people but also getting them to beat themselves up. And, once you get a person to beat themselves, who can help them? It is a dastardly cycle from which few people ever escape. You have to somehow learn to think well of yourself.

This may come as a surprise to you but God already knows how people think and act. He invented them. To think that God with His vast intelligence and unlimited ability is somehow offended because you said a swear word or drank some wine is the height of foolishness. God has foreknowledge and as such knows everything you will ever think, say and do before you ever think, say or do it. He fully and completely understands the limitations of your human flesh and gave you a perfect way out if you really want it. He knew you or I could never measure up on our own. He didn’t create people this way, but it is the reality of where we are following the fall. It was that fall of man that got us into this position. From that day forward every person born finds themselves subject to this inside judge, this accuser ever working against our own best interests. Yet, we will never beat this voice by own efforts or our vain attempts to “clean” up our flesh. Just the opposite occurs. The more we listen to the voice and work hard to make ourselves better by restricting ourselves, disciplining ourselves, berating ourselves, the more we fail and the harder we must work. It is the spin cycle of error. It never leads to goodness and never can. Instead it leads to mental defeat and a crappy life. The only solution is to accept God’s perfect work in the life of His son and to stop judging yourself. Otherwise you will have a very difficult time escaping and ignoring that voice. As long as you focus on your flesh you can never begin to think well of yourself. There will ALWAYS be some flaw, some error, some mistake that ultimately means you are less than who God says you are. And either God is lying or that voice is… Learn to think well of yourself.

Can you imagine what your life would be like if you stopped judging yourself? Has anyone ever actually improved by carefully evaluating and analyzing their behaviors? You know otherwise. The more you analyze and evaluate your every move, the more weakness and inability you will find. How can you not? The Bible says that “in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing!” (Romans 7:18 – see for yourself). Well, if God says no good thing dwells in it, how are you going to find good in it? You won’t! But, you will spend a lot of time trying. Enter wasted days, months and years. The only plausible solution is to stop doing it. Stop judging yourself. Stop rehearsing situations and circumstances looking for what’s wrong. Refuse the urge to analyze yourself. If you’re honest you already know that endless self-analysis has never led you to anything good. Oh sure you may feel better for awhile because of the application of some new principle or technique but in the end you will get back to where you started – with yourself, flaws and all. Let me ask it this way. Do you think that it pleases God for you to spend your days in condemnation and judgment? Would you want that for your children? Has someone taught you that God wants you to suffer in order to live for Him? I often think the people who love God the most are the ones most susceptible to this evil influence. The only way to please God is by believing what He says in His Word and He clearly says you and I will never fall into any judgment from Him because we accepted (or are accepting) the work of His dear son, the perfect for the imperfect, the just for the unjust. That folks is the true recipe for escaping the perpetual voice of judgment. Think well of yourself.

Is it not reasonable to stop putting yourself on the wrong side of things? Are you really evil and bad or has something convinced you otherwise? What is stopping you from deciding to think well of yourself? (Remember, they are your thoughts!) The first thing to do is to stop judging yourself. Stop focusing on what “may” be wrong with you. One of the most challenging aspects of standing against the works of evil is to stop listening to it and considering it. Stop entertaining the lies. Once you start answering it you are already defeated. Answering it alone means you have already accepted it as a possibility. From there the road leads only downward. You have to make up your mind to stop judging yourself. Quit cooperating with it. Cease from giving it space in your thought life. Then having escaped its grasp, you have to think something else. Why not view yourself in a positive light? Why not think you can instead of you can’t? Why not embrace yourself and what you bring to the world instead of everything that is wrong with you? There is literally no other you and you cannot do the things that you would while you are thinking that way! Think well of yourself. Your true impact in this life depends on it.

The only way to discover this reality is to put it into application. Put it into the crucible of your experience. Make up your mind to make your next thought the right thought. Initiate good thoughts about yourself, just some good thoughts. Begin to love yourself again and treat yourself like someone who you love. Be kind to yourself and for goodness sakes give yourself a break for being an imperfect creature. One day God will make you perfect, but until then enjoy your life complete with all of your foibles. It’s a sometimes slow process and real change takes time, but it is so, so worth it. Endless self-analysis and self-evaluation will not get the job done. Only God can get the job done and He does it as you change your mind and think how He says to think. That voice in your head does not come from Him. He is not judging you. Break free into the glorious liberty He has given you. Think well of yourself not because you do everything right, but because God already thinks well of you in spite of what you do. That is grace and that is love. Think well of yourself!

Just some good thoughts…