John 8:23 tells us: And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
It’s so easy, to get drawn into what others portray as truth, especially through social media and verbal means. The world has easy access to people through social media, and unfortunately, culture seems to place people in a vicious acceptance box based off things that hold no value. Things like financial status or gain, expensive clothing, cars, fancy homes, and outward appearance. And because of that, it’s easy to get caught in the comparison and self-evaluation whirlwind. Comparing ourselves to what is viewed on social media and then self-evaluating our status based off that one post. Crazy thing is, our access is one sided - we don’t know the real story on the other side, we have no concept of how many pictures were taken to capture that perfect one, what it took to attain the items in the picture, how that person truly feels about themselves, or if that was their fancy house in the background. But, we create stories and paint the truth based on what we see. It’s important to realize that most people are only going to publicly portray what looks good and could be over embellishing for a "like"…ijs.
Additionally, there will be people who feel the need to tell you what they think about you, good or bad, and those words can resonate in your thoughts and spirit. Have you ever heard the saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?” As wonderful as it sounds, I don’t believe that’s entirely true. If a person doesn’t have the strength, confidence, and power to fight against negative comments, then, those words can be just as damaging as the sticks and stones.
I wasn’t always properly armored and therefore was damaged by the words of others. My co-worker made a comment towards me, in the midst of a flare up, that taunted me for years, she said: “Shontel, you look like death.” I could vividly hear her saying that over and over in my head so much so that I started to believe it. I also allowed comparison traps and self-evaluation to determine my truth. Which in turn, led to self-inflicted negative thoughts about myself. It wasn’t until I started to get deep into the word, by hearing and reading, that I was made aware of the real truth – God’s truth. I then gained the strength and armor necessary to battle any negative seeds that others or myself, were attempting to plant in my space. I stopped comparing myself to the irrelevant standards of man, but to God’s standards. Living in truth and believing God’s promises for my life, helped me to contentment with my Chronic Pain. I know who I am and whose I am, God is a man of NO mistakes. Truth = God’s word. I’m grateful!
