Self-Pity

"I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself." ~D.H. Lawrence on Self-Pity~

I look beyond the physical measure of what I see. People see me as this all God-loving person. But what they do not see is where they stop looking. I have done things in my life that I am not proud of. I have committed acts that I should be ashamed of but I am not. Should I be? Should I commit myself to feel sorry for myself for certain things I did in my life? Should I put even the slightest bit of effort of having those events control who I am today? The answer is an absolute no. I will not let the old me take control of the new me. I will not hold on to what had been effecting me for many many years before I sought the best path that will ever be offered to me. These nameless acts which have controlled me and at often times consumed my life have dissolved like snow thanks to the words of the one I trust the most. I am no longer ashamed for what I have done in my past. I will no longer show self-pity for what I had done.

"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you." ~1 Peter 1:22-25~

Self-pity is just as strong as pride itself. Pride is one of the hardest things to ever overcome and every human being on this planet, living or dead with the exception of just one, has all suffered from pride. Webster's synonyms define "pride" as conceited, egotistical and pompous. It's a harsh thing to overcome and many people suffer from it, including myself. There is but only one cure for it: drop the barrier of embarrassment, throw down the "staff," release all your past events and admit that you are wrong. It says in Exodus 4 that the LORD appeared before Moses and Moses said unto Him, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you?'" The LORD answered back to Moses, "What is that which you hold in your hand?" Moses replied, "A staff." The LORD then said to Moses, "Throw it down."

Moses, like many of us, had burdens to bear yet until the LORD God told him to throw down his staff, Moses did not know what to do. We can go many many years with burdens on our back but until we throw them all down before the LORD, they can cause us some damage in this life. I say give it all to God. Throw everything we have, good or bad, down before Him. Let Him take it from you. Trust in Him and will give you blessings like you can never imagine. "For whosoever calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved."

That doesn't mean saying, "Hey, God? Yeah I'm a sinner and I did a lot of bad things. Please forgive me and it will never happen again. So can I get into Heaven now?" It's good that you have admitted being a sinner. However, something as simple as just those four statements will not get you in. Being baptized is a wonderful thing. Committing yourself to doing good for others, sending donations to St. Jude's Hospital or UNICEF or working community service for the elderly or receiving an honorary award for opening up an orphanage or even just living a happy life with your family. All those things, all those accomplishments will not get you into Heaven. But how we have Christ not only in our lives but in our hearts, how we deal with situations, how we live and walk with Christ and worship Him daily and read of Him daily and praise Him daily and receive Him into our hearts daily. I love Him because He loved me first, and if loving Him and praising Him and worshiping Him and living a righteous life with Him by my side; if that lets me get into Heaven, then I would be more than happy to oblige with the grace God has given me to do so.

LORD Father, I thank you for this day and giving me this time to write this blog. I hope that when people read this that they, like Moses, will be able to throw their burdens and struggles that they may be going through down at Your feet, Father. Let those who do know that they can trust you to take it all into Your hands, LORD. Give those who struggle with it the strength to come to You. Let them become more Christ-like and rejoice in You, LORD and trust in You and Your ways, God. For those who are fearful of coming to You, I ask that You, LORD, cast their fears aside and throw off their blinders. Let them be shown a way that will lead to You and not have their paths diverted from You. Give them the strength and guidance and wisdom they need to see You. Because You are always there for us, God. You are always loving us, God. And You will never give up on us, God. You are constant and everlasting, LORD and we love You. We love You for everything You have given us and continue to give us each and every single day, LORD. We love You, LORD, because You have loved all of us first. Again, LORD Father, I thank You for today and for all the things that You continue to for us and I say all of this in Your blessed Holy Name, LORD. Amen.