So much of our behaviors and attitudes stem from feeling bad about ourselves. This is the secret that some of us keep neatly tucked away from prying eyes. We don’t want others to know that we’re filled with anxiety about what we perceive as our inadequacies, so we hide behind a mask. That’s not a sustainable solution. After a while, the anxiety, shame, and sadness come to the surface, and when they do, we’re left with only two alternatives. We can either choose to go deeper into hiding or we can lean on God and His Word and refuse to live a life of self-condemnation.
When a building is condemned, typically yellow tape is wrapped around it, and the entrance is boarded up. This is done because the building is no longer safe to enter, and it is no longer useful for its intended purpose. Self-condemnation is when we wrap our hearts and minds with shame and guilt, and we put ourselves down because we never feel good enough. We don’t feel useful because we underestimate our worth and value to God. The truth is that we have a purpose in His Plan and a home in His Kingdom. We have the Spirit of the One True Living God abiding within us, but self-condemnation blinds our minds and hearts to the heft of this monumental blessing. It keeps us closed off from the reality that having God’s Spirit makes us very important and impactful to all the people and situations around us.
Ephesians 1:5(NLT) says, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” God handpicked us out. He has specifically chosen every individual that has come to Him for salvation. We didn’t choose Him first, He chose us first, and He’s given us a holy calling and a purpose to fulfill. To be sure, this is a calling and purpose that we don’t have to stress about.
There’s no stress involved in anything that the Father gives us. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 11:28 (NLT), “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Society places limitations and standards on everyone about how we should look, what we should wear, and how we should act. If we don’t meet those standards, we are often ostracized, frowned upon, or worse. Some of us were bullied or ridiculed because we didn’t fit in. Not only did this break our hearts, but it caused us to see ourselves in a way that undermines our confidence.
Giving our lives to God transfers us from the bondage of darkness to the liberty of God’s love and light. Ephesians 1:6-8(NLT) tells us, “6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.” This is overwhelmingly Good News! God has poured every spiritual blessing into us because of our union with Christ. There’s no struggle in accepting His love and surrendering our lives to Him. We simply have to trust His promises and trust in what He’s given us. When we do, we move from being self-condemning to loving God and loving ourselves because of who He’s made us through Christ.
Because of what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ, we have right standing with Him. This means that when God looks at us, He sees the person He has made us through His Son. God doesn’t hold our pasts against us, and He doesn’t let our current mistakes overrule His love and acceptance of us. The blood of Christ has cleansed our sins, and God has stamped us “RIGHTEOUS!” We couldn’t earn this extraordinary gift, so it isn’t because of anything we’ve done. It’s because of what He’s done for us through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:14(NLT) tells us, “The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”
We are not random and nothing about our lives is random either. We are God’s children, and we are extremely important and beneficial to Him and His Kingdom in the most spiritual and wonderful way. Romans 8:1 (NLT) says, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Sure, we make mistakes and we get down on ourselves sometimes too, but we can’t stay in that place for too long. If we do, we’ll paralyze ourselves with all the emotions and feelings that self-condemnation brings. There’s a better way, and it is to trust with every fiber of our being that we are who God says we are. We are righteous, free, and full of His love and light. We mean so much to our Heavenly Father, and He’s proven this by making it possible through Christ for us to be with Him an eternity. So, let’s leave self-condemnation in the past, and look forward with joy and faith to God’s blessings and the bright future He has for us all. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Don’t Give in to Self-Condemnation”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.