What lies do you believe about yourself? I’ll never forget the first time I faced my lies. A mentor sat across from me in a coffee shop. We began to discuss some reoccurring issues in my life. A couple lies came to the surface; You’re not valuable unless you produce; You still need to earn your friendships; You cannot receive acceptance from God or others.
As I began to speak these lies to him, he provided me with grace and compassion. He talked to me after a brief moment of silence and said, “It’s time to replace those lies with truths.” One by one, we challenged each lie with the truth of scripture and redirecting my focus especially in regards to my friends.
The lies we believe powerfully affect our relationship with God, others, and ourselves. What lies do we believe?
Perfectionism – I cannot mess up or make a mistake.
People Pleasing – I must live up to the standards I think others have on me.
Self-Righteousness – I have done enough to earn God’s love.
Insecurity – I will never measure up to others.
Recognition – My work only matters what people see it, or no one sees my hard work.
Workaholic – If I don’t do it, it will not or cannot get done.
You might add a few lies to the list. Gone unchecked, they cause to look down on ourselves. At times, we look down on others. Lies we tell ourselves blur our vision of God at work in our lives.
The Gospel brings us to the place to recognize God’s truth so that we can experience his grace. Christ frees us from earning his love and comparing ourselves to others. James Bryan Smith speaks of this truth in understanding a “kingdom narrative” in The Good and Beautiful Life:
The kingdom narratives oppose the world’s narratives: You are valuable to God. God loves you no matter what. Your worth is not dependent on your performance or on what others think of you. Your worth is found in the loving eyes of God. If you win, God loves you. If you lose, God loves you. If you fast and pray and give your money to the poor, God loves you. If you are sinful and selfish, God loves you. He is covenant God, and his love never changes (pg. 147)
Replacing the lies, we believe with God’s truth takes time. Today, you have the opportunity to identify these lies, so that you no longer misplace your value. The simple truth; God loves us out of his grace, not of anything we have done or earned.
What lies have you believed? What truth of God’s grace can replace that lie?
Photo credit by Liane Metzler.