On Being Satisfied
Elizabeth O'Connor
I had never thought before that being critical of myself was being critical of God who made me and even now pronounces me satisfactory as is. If God is the creator, it is not appropriate to rebel against one of his creations, even if that creation is myself. That would be expressing dissatisfaction with God. This does not mean relinquishing my goals for growth, but rejoicing in what is while I reach for what can be. I can give praise for myself as faulted as I am, and then take the next step. In this response, God is not only the One who goes before me, but is God with me.
In giving praise for ourselves we become more aware of how many strains of self-hatred weave through our self-love. We are misguided when we worry about the people who think too well of themselves. Our wars with each other are grounded in self-hatred, not self-love....
1 comment:
Ah. I love this. I came upon this thought a couple summers ago when I put a ton of time and effort into an art project I absolutely loved. I wondered how I, the creator of this work of art, would feel if it suddenly spoke and said "man, I really don't like this part" or "I wish I could change this piece here." I would be offended and hurt because I did that stuff for a reason...and what are we but God's artwork, and we complain about the way he made us all the time, whether it be looks, personality, whatever. That goes for others as well.
It's a cool but hard concept to think about...thanks for reminding me about it with this...very good for me to think about right now...
I'm glad we think alike sometimes :)
Post a Comment