Life and our culture have a way of making alignment to our created purpose confusing. In life we are, as one ancient author described it, “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”* From birth we are assaulted by lies about who we are. Sometimes it is our family, sometimes it is our classmates, sometimes our neighbors, or sometimes our co-workers. For sure it is also the constant throbbing message from the culture telling us we are not enough. These lies can settle deep into our psyche. They may be telling us we need to be skinnier, that we can’t compete intellectually, that we aren’t good enough to do what we enjoy, or that are our very core there is something wrong in us that makes us irreversibly defective. When these lies take root it makes believing the truth about who the Creator made us to be seem ridiculous. Embracing the lies leads us to a life of frustration, fear and anxiety.
Unwinding the lies and embracing the truth is within our grasp. It takes persistence, diligence, and daily perseverance. It also takes doing something different. The lies are embedded in us because we have meditated on them. We have reinforced them. To change we have to begin the deconstruction process. Start by making a commitment to everyday doing what it takes to discover, uproot, and replace the lies.
- Take the time to review. Think about the destructive messages you’ve received over the course of your life. Some of the messages have been overt and some covert. As you identify them write them down. Write down who sent the message, be it a person, an institution, or an environment. Ask yourself why you are allowing that person or entity to declare truth about you?
- Allow yourself to believe that you were brought into existence by the grand Creator and that this Creator has a truth about you to discover.
- Begin to change your input. The lies are sown and grown by input. If you want to uproot and replace the lies with the truth you must change the input. The Creator has given you the power to choose new input. Read or listen to good books. I encourage reading the classics. You can use the internet for a list, or ask a literature teacher.
**Here I will make personal suggestion. Start with reading the books of the Psalms, Proverbs and New Testament for 10 minutes every day. Even if you are not in the Christian religion you will benefit from the message. - Begin to Journal. Write out your thoughts, feelings, stories, memories…whatever comes out. When you think of lies, write out challenges to them. Write what you are learning about yourself. Write out prayers. Write out poems. Use the journal to pour out your heart. List the things you do well. List out your victories, even the smallest ones.
- Begin to use your gifts. If its painting, then paint, if its building things then start, if its encouraging others then do it with gusto. Consider one of my favorite quotes, “If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don’t hoard it. Don’t dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke.” Brendan Francis.
As you being to practice these things regularly you will get new ideas about who you are. Let them settle in. Push back against the lies as they rear their dishonest heads. Embrace the new truths the Creator is teaching you about who you really are. Look for new opportunities to push into. New friendships, new social circles, new hobbies, new work. Give yourself the permission to try even if one of the new things you do does not work out.
The truth of life is that you have a purpose. You were given talents, abilities, interests and passions because your Creator wants you to have them. He wants you to use them. Make a commitment to move toward undoing anything that is casting a shadow over your glorious potential and move in the direction of alignment with your God given mission.
*Matthew 9:36 NIV