Day 313: Don't Pressure Yourself

1 John 3:20

for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.

Romans 8:1

There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus.

Some of us are way too hard on ourselves. Many of us can say that we are perfectionist. How many times have we looked down upon ourselves for something we did, or felt crappy because we felt like we could have done better? How many times have a put ourselves down because in our eyes we did something wrong. This even goes into self-harm, how many of us have harmed ourselves because we feel like we need to be better or do better or we are not satisfied with who we are. I know I have, done all of these things.

The thing about being a perfectionist and being too hard on ourselves is that we force ourselves to grow. However we do it in a harmful way. As an artist I am a very passionate person, and in general I am very hard on myself, and that allowed me to push to constantly being better, but talking down on myself and hurting myself when I was less than I thought I should be was not a healthy way to get there. I had to realize that discipline and being hard on myself are two completely different things. There is nothing wrong with self-discipline however there is a lot wrong with self-harm. God does not condemn us so why do we do it to ourselves? Why do we think of ourselves as unworthy when to Jesus we are worth everything. No we are not perfect and that is why we need Jesus. He completes us. That perfection we are seeking is only found in Christ, nowhere else. No matter how much we beat ourselves up, or talk down to ourselves, the only one that can make us whole and perfect is Jesus Christ.

Many of us have gone through very tragic things and blamed ourselves from them. Many of us have been abused and mistreated and that has caused us to think we are not enough. Well let me tell you right here and now; YOU ARE ENOUGH! God knew you were enough the moment He made the decision to create you. Don’t spend time coming down on yourself because of what others think or how people have treated you. God’s will for our life is not for us to be mistreated by others or ourselves. He wants us to live with Him and allow our lives to lead others to Him. God does not want us to be out here harming ourselves, it is not HIs desire that we hurt ourselves in any way. God is a healer, and He loves us through the pain. He loves us beyond our sin, and He sees us in our darkest hour. We a meant to live in unity with Him, not trying so hard to be perfect that we separate ourselves from Him.

We sometimes put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect Christians. When we decide to give our lives to Christ and are dedicated to serving Him ever day of our lives, we find ourselves under our own microscope. What I mean is we want so bad to please God and to live right that we pressure ourselves out of living. Meaning we are often so caught up in getting it right that we can get it wrong. We cannot constantly condemn ourselves for the things we have done or the things we do, no one changes overnight. We all want to be people of God, living right by the word and living a life free of sin, but we must find the line that goes beyond self-discipline and into self-condemnation, or pressuring ourselves to be perfect. The thing about us trying to be perfect on our own is, as I’ve mentioned before we can never get there. The thing about pressure is, too much of it can cause great damage. Think about how much damage we cause ourselves by feeling pressured by the need to be perfect, and the need to always get it right. We are human, and part of our humanity is that sometimes we will get it wrong, sometimes things won’t go the way we planned. But God is so good in the sense that even when we do get it wrong He is there to forgive us and teach us what is right. If we never get something wrongs we’ll never know what was right. Life isn’t about being perfect it is about the willingness to admit our need of a savior. It is about being willing to learn and grow.

All this to say, do not pressure yourself. Do not condemn us and HE created us and knows everything about us. If God, who created us and knows everything there is to know about us and knows what we are going to do before we do it, if He finds no reason to condemn us, let’s not do it to ourselves.  Living in unity with Christ means that there is no condemnation, none.

Reflection

1. Have you ever been too hard on yourself?
2. Has your need to be perfect caused you to harm yourself, whether physically, emotionally or mentally.
3. How has God helped you with that?  

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer today. Have a conversation with God about what we discussed today. If you are that person surrender your worries to God. If you know someone who struggles with this pray for them and reach out to them and let them know they are loved by God and by you.

I love you, I really do. If you are struggling with self harm, please do not suffer in silence, reach out to someone, Anyone. Find someone who will pray with you. I love you and I hope you have an amazing day. Please share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 313!

Day 41: He/She That is Without Sin

John 8: 3-11

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.  Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”  This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”  And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Many of us have heard this story before, and some of us know it very well. If this is your first time hearing or reading this story allow me to explain. A woman is caught in the act of adultery, and according to the law of Moses she is to be stoned. The Pharisees bring the woman to Jesus to see what He will do, testing Him. Jesus says to them, if you have no sin within you cast the first stone, one by one they each drop the stone. Jesus turns to the woman and doesn’t condemn her but forgives her and tells her not to sin anymore.

Now that everyone is caught up. There are two points I want to make today. We often read this scripture and make ourselves the woman in situation, we make ourselves the victim, and many times we are; but how many times have we been the Pharisee? We are often condemned for our sin, but how often do we point out the sins of others without realizing our sin is just as great as theirs? Many times we have been Pharisees without knowing it.

When I first became a Christian I went through a “I’m perfect” phase, and felt that because Christ had saved me that I could go and point out the sins of others. I was quick to point out the sinful lives others were leading without paying attention to my own life because I was no longer a sinner, I had become a Christian. I was never going to sin again, or at least I thought. I cannot explain how wrong I was. Until God showed me that if it wasn’t for His grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ I would hanging from my sinful life and nature as if it were a noose.

-Dyamond

Jesus’ response in this passage is the best, because it’s simple and quite striking. The men that brought her to Jesus were leaders in the community, teachers, they studied the law of Moses, and in their eyes they were doing what was right. Jesus gives the the perfect ultimatum, throw the rock if you are sinless, if not, drop it. They all knew that they were just as much a sinner as this woman was. No one could throw the rock but Jesus who was truly without sin.

• We cannot condemn someone else for their sin when we still have sin brewing within us. Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? (Mark 7:5)
• Sometimes we think that our sin is not as bad as the next person. But you cannot judge an adulterer is you’re a thief , You cannot judge a liar if you are a cheater. Sure we may not sin in the same way or as openly as others but we still sin. That alone is enough to keep us from judging and condemning others. Unless I can say that I am completely without sin, I better put that rock down or stand in line after I throw it.
• I commend the honesty in the men in this passage. I mean they could have denied their own sin and continued to condemn this woman, but Jesus made them take a look at themselves before they worried about the fate of this adulterous woman. He does the same to us today, makes us take a look at ourselves, make sure we are good. We have to look at our lives before we try to judge the lives of others. Because I’m pretty sure that if the tables were turned, people would find something to stone us for as well.
  
  

Many of us, especially us young people have come in contact with someone, who has pointed out our sin and condemned us to hell faster than they could pronounce our full name. We have all been there at some point in our walk with Christ. Whether it’s been a fellow Christian, a pastor, an elder, or a church mother. We have been in the woman’s position where someone decided to expose us for our sin, and in the presence of others. I get how this can be discouraging, it feels terrible, as if we don’t already feel bad enough, we have to be berated and humiliated. That isn’t like Christ. Jesus never humiliated anyone, He never called anyone by their sin. He forgave and loved them. We can find comfort in knowing that. Jesus was the only one who could cast that stone, as He was the only one without sin, completely perfect. But he doesn’t throw it, instead He asks her, “where are they, who is left to condemn you?” when she responds ‘no one Lord’, he says, “NEITHER DO IT”. Jesus, the only one who could condemn her, and it would be justified, chooses not to. The one without sin, chooses to forgive. He forgave her,  and all He asks was that ‘sin no more’.  Yesterday we talked about not condemning ourselves. Today I will say, if Jesus Himself chooses not to condemn us, no 

one else has the right to.

Reflection

1. Reread the passage above, when have you identified with the woman in this story?
2. When have you identified with the Pharisees in this story?
3. When have you done what Jesus did, and how can we become more like Christ, especially when we are placed in situations where we unconsciously and consciously judge our brothers and sisters?  
   
   

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the question above lead your prayer today. Pray that God takes any judgement out of your heart and replaces it with love. As you pray. Keep those who are condemned daily lifted up. Pray for those who are constantly outcast because of their sin, or because of a certain sin that has become unacceptable in the church. Take this time to lift up those in the LGBT community, as the church has seemed to shun this group of people the most.. Even if we do not agree, it is still our duty to pray for them. Lift up every community that has been outcast in prayer.

Have an awesome day! I love you, share this with someone and make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 42!