By Kimberly Davidson
The elephant is the largest most powerful land animal on earth. Yet it takes only a strong rope to restrain one. It works like this: When the elephant is a baby, he is tied to a large tree. For weeks, he will strain and pull to get loose, but the rope holds him tightly. Eventually, he gives up. When he reaches full size and strength, he doesn’t struggle to get free. You can take the rope off and he won’t break away.
Our minds play a similar trick on us.
As we move from childhood onward, we soak up like crazy what we see, hear, and are told—by our family, peers, teachers and mass media—molding our belief system which becomes second nature to us. The cultural context we soaked up so innocently in our preschool years is there in the background of our adult lives all the time, operating in our minds behind the scenes, like the “great and powerful wizard of Oz”—before he was exposed by Toto the dog. Everyday experiences are triggered by those older deeply ingrained beliefs and values.
Many of us are carrying around negative messages from those years about ourselves. If a parent or teacher told us we weren’t very smart, or just average, or worse, their words exerted a powerful influence. Even when we become adults, the messages are so ingrained, we don’t question them.
These toxic labels we give ourselves are swirling around in our minds. They are our inner abuser: the unconscious voice that calls us names today incompetent, ugly, fat, stupid, unlovable, worthless. The inner turmoil will continue to lower our self-worth and intrude unless we get rid of the inner abuser. It’s not easy, and it takes time. But God’s power can prevail.
What I am still in the process of learning is that as long as the focus is on what our body isn’t, then we’ll continue to struggle and suffer. We’ll continue to spend thousands of dollars on diet programs, cosmetic products, and plastic surgeons. Recognize that this is their business: to get us to focus on what our body isn’t. I wish I could say I’ve got this mastered, but I don’t. The problem is, I believe that when we’re dissatisfied with ourselves, we lose the opportunity to know the joy God has for us.
A Randy Glasbergen comic goes, “Your resume here says that you are created in the image of God. Very impressive!” Someone else misusing us to satisfy his or her own selfishness does not negate or change who we are—valuable human beings—worthy of love and respect. God wants us to know the wonder of being made in His image.
When God made every human being “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). In other words, you have been made “very good” and “excellent in every way.” You wear a spiritual label, “Handmade by the Lord.” Because we are made in the amazing image of God. What we already are is adequate to meet our needs and any crisis we may confront. By the way, being made in the image of God, and therefore, labeling myself as ugly (or other negative thought/belief), is saying that God is ugly.
Claim God’s Word, “I belong to Christ and have become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Describe your emotional response to this good news.
