Self-Image
Answer me honestly. Do you struggle with self-image? Probably. We all do at one point or another. It's human nature to look for approval from other people. We so often find our worth in what other people think of us. When a person compliments us or our looks we experience the heights of happiness. We feel confident. Secure. But when someone insults our physical selves we feel worthless. Unsure of ourselves and who we are. So many times we go to great lengths to change the way we appear to fit in more with what society says is beautiful. I'm guilty of it too. Now there's nothing inherently wrong with changing the way we look. Getting a haircut, changing our style of clothing, even getting a tattoo. But why are we doing these things? Is it just to feel accepted by a society that is constantly changing? Think about it. What was considered to be stylish and beautiful 40, 20, even 10 years ago is now considered to be silly and ridiculous. (Take it from a guy who still thinks fanny packs are awesome.) Society's standards are constantly changing. We'll never be able to keep up. And if we try we'll exhaust not only ourselves but also our bank accounts. So you're probably thinking "Alright. That's all well and good, but you don't understand. Being made fun of hurts. Why shouldn't I try and fit in?" Again, are measuring ourselves to man's standards? Because when we do that we will always be disappointed.
Recently I attended a Centrifuge camp with my church's youth group. Whilst there several of the people that I knew well confessed that they struggled with self-image and with the devil telling them lies like they were ugly or overweight or just imperfect. This had led some of them to take drastic measures to feel better about themselves. Starving themselves to feel thinner and cutting themselves are two of the more extreme examples. Needless to say I was shocked. These were all beautiful girls and handsome guys! I would never have thought that they could struggle with something like this. But then I realized we all struggle with this to some degree or another. We all play the game of trying to be more than we appear. We all want people think we have things all together and that we're secure. But so often the truth is just the opposite.
So it all comes back to whose standards we are trying to meet. Are we trying to meet society's standards which are constantly changing? Or are we trusting God when He says we are fearfully and wonderfully made?
Not long ago I took a class on photo-editing. It still astounds me to this day how much pictures or magazine covers or movie screens lie to us. Every facet of the model or actor has been extensively photo-shopped or edited to appear perfect. This isn't to say that the model or actor wasn't already beautiful (or handsome), but the editors go to such great lengths to erase every blemish and unconformity. And then we measure ourselves to these edited images, and we feel horrible about ourselves! But how can we compare to those images when hours of work has gone into them to make them look perfect!
The Bible hit the nail on the head when it said that Satan is the "father of lies." He lied to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and he's lying to us today. Maybe one of the most heart rending examples of Satan's lies is when he convinces a perfect creation of God that they are imperfect. The Bible tells us over and over that God created us and the He loves us! Why do we believe the father of lies over our real father?
There's one thing we need to recognize. One thing we all need to know. When God looked down on creation and said it was "very good," He also meant you and me. He's outside of time. He knew exactly what you would look like and how you would act. He personally designed every facet of you! In today's mass production culture we sometimes think of God as an assembly line worker. Working hard to finish the next batch of humans and get on to the next one. What an impersonal, unloving creator that would be! But the Bible describes God as a potter. God sat down with you in mind and sculpted something He absolutely loved. He designed every aspect of you. Your strengths, your apparent flaws, everything! God put love and affection and time and skill into making you. In fact, He loved His creation so much He sent His son to die for it. God is a very personal, loving, wild, passionate creator. He doesn't just sit in Heaven waiting for us to come to Him, He pursues us! Like a man pursues his wife. So don't believe the lies of the world and Satan when they say there's something wrong with you. Have faith and trust in God that He made you. Find your confidence and worth in Christ. He is Lord over all. And He chose you. He is always with you. And He is absolutely, totally, obsessively, entirely, wholly, utterly, completely in love with you.
Recently I attended a Centrifuge camp with my church's youth group. Whilst there several of the people that I knew well confessed that they struggled with self-image and with the devil telling them lies like they were ugly or overweight or just imperfect. This had led some of them to take drastic measures to feel better about themselves. Starving themselves to feel thinner and cutting themselves are two of the more extreme examples. Needless to say I was shocked. These were all beautiful girls and handsome guys! I would never have thought that they could struggle with something like this. But then I realized we all struggle with this to some degree or another. We all play the game of trying to be more than we appear. We all want people think we have things all together and that we're secure. But so often the truth is just the opposite.
So it all comes back to whose standards we are trying to meet. Are we trying to meet society's standards which are constantly changing? Or are we trusting God when He says we are fearfully and wonderfully made?
Not long ago I took a class on photo-editing. It still astounds me to this day how much pictures or magazine covers or movie screens lie to us. Every facet of the model or actor has been extensively photo-shopped or edited to appear perfect. This isn't to say that the model or actor wasn't already beautiful (or handsome), but the editors go to such great lengths to erase every blemish and unconformity. And then we measure ourselves to these edited images, and we feel horrible about ourselves! But how can we compare to those images when hours of work has gone into them to make them look perfect!
The Bible hit the nail on the head when it said that Satan is the "father of lies." He lied to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and he's lying to us today. Maybe one of the most heart rending examples of Satan's lies is when he convinces a perfect creation of God that they are imperfect. The Bible tells us over and over that God created us and the He loves us! Why do we believe the father of lies over our real father?
There's one thing we need to recognize. One thing we all need to know. When God looked down on creation and said it was "very good," He also meant you and me. He's outside of time. He knew exactly what you would look like and how you would act. He personally designed every facet of you! In today's mass production culture we sometimes think of God as an assembly line worker. Working hard to finish the next batch of humans and get on to the next one. What an impersonal, unloving creator that would be! But the Bible describes God as a potter. God sat down with you in mind and sculpted something He absolutely loved. He designed every aspect of you. Your strengths, your apparent flaws, everything! God put love and affection and time and skill into making you. In fact, He loved His creation so much He sent His son to die for it. God is a very personal, loving, wild, passionate creator. He doesn't just sit in Heaven waiting for us to come to Him, He pursues us! Like a man pursues his wife. So don't believe the lies of the world and Satan when they say there's something wrong with you. Have faith and trust in God that He made you. Find your confidence and worth in Christ. He is Lord over all. And He chose you. He is always with you. And He is absolutely, totally, obsessively, entirely, wholly, utterly, completely in love with you.
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