I'm trying to become a regular blogger. It took me years to become a regular reader. When I read, which I loved to do, I didn't want to stop. But getting me to pick it up, was like pulling teeth. Its a paradox. I loved it so much, but I couldn't get myself to start. Its the same with my blogging.
I think the answer is that our world has gotten us so busy, movement oriented and visual entertainment oriented, that we must be doing something (keeping moving) or watching something. We can't still our bodies or our minds. Some are couch potatoes keeping their minds busy, but their bodies motionless, and some are busy bodies always working, exercising, or always on the go. We seem to thrive on keeping ourselves busy, even when there is no real work to do (or avoiding work, so we don't set ourselves up for failure).
I believe this stems from our society molding us into shallow, results oriented people who have to do everything right. We measure ourselves by what we do (or don't do), instead of who we are and in Who's image we are made. When we base our worth on what we produce (or don't produce) and don't base it on how God sees us, then we will blindly think: we are the cat's meow or, like most, we realize how we don't add up to the expectations of ourselves or others and get depressed.
This is why our culture suffers from egotism (I Gods gift cause I'm great) or, on the other extreme low self-esteem or depression. Both egotism, on one extreme and self-loathing or depression, on the other extreme, are both self absorption, because both extremes focus on self. One just exalts self while the other puts down self, but both are self absorbed.
I also believe people stay busy so they don't have to really honestly look at themselves. They don't want to see how crummy they really are on their own, without God.
'Hey wait a minute', you might say, ' I thought you said we are to base our value on how God sees us and now you say I'm junk. You can't have it both ways!'
Well, my comment seems to be a paradox, but its not. On our own, without God we're junk, broken and marred, but God values us anyway. He knows how we were originally made, before sin marred us, because He made us. I'm paraphrasing, but God said 'He fearfully and wonderfully made us.' - sin, though, screwed us up.
Even though we're screwed up now, God sees how wonderful He can make us again, if we'll let Him. (I say if we let him because He forces Himself on no man or woman. He gives us free choice whether we accept Him or not.)
He truly sees what we can become again when we surrender to our life-giver, our creator, the One who knows how we tick.
He values us even in our pitiful state. He doesn't love us based on our performance, as we base ourselves or others, and how others base us. He doesn't love us based on what we can do for Him. He loves us in spite of ourselves.
So, don't be depressed, we all suck. Come to Him, so He can change us. Lets quit relying on our selves and what we do or don't do to Judge ourselves (condemn ourselves). God says 'Judge (condemn) not lest you be judged (condemned) by the same measure. This applies to ourselves also. The Apostle Paul says, 'I judge (condemn) not even myself.' [*see note at bottom]
So don't beat yourself up ( or down), just come to God, and let Him make you alive! Full of Life!
We will occasionally feel low and beaten down under the water, but remember, we have a Life preserver, One who keeps us afloat, if we let Him.
To do this we need to slow down, get less busy and not try to do everything. Busy is our enemy.
We need to slow down, so we can see Him - So we can hear Him. We need to slow down, so we can take a look in the mirror and see the bad, the good and the ugly. When we do this, through Christ, we see what we need to change. Once we see this, we need not despair or enter depression, instead we ask Him to change us. For only He can do it, because none of our human effort can make the change permanent. Only God can make the needed changes permanent. If we seek to change what we see by our own efforts it won't last. We need Him.
Hey, I've blogged! Peace !!!!!
(This ' judge not lest you be judged', doesn't mean we can"t confront someone with a sinful behavior they are committing. It doesn't mean we can't say, 'hey your sinning'. God tells us to condemn the sin, but not to condemn the sinner. The word judge, in that context means in the original language: condemn. So, it should read; Condemn not, lest you be condemned with the same harshness.)
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