Who Told You That’s the Way It Should Be? — MISSION: SELF-CARE
Photo from: wallpaper.knowing-jesus.com
Sunday, March 30 (Day 4)
“Who told you that’s the way it should be? Who told you that’s what you’re supposed to do?” The facilitator’s words pierced me to the core. Where DID all the false beliefs come from about what we’re supposed to be or do or say? The answer is… from our culture – from our parents, our friends, school, television, magazines, neighbors, books, music. Messages come at us from all directions. But how do we know which ones are true and right for us? I am waking up to this hard truth— in trying to follow the craziness of this world, I have lost my way. This fast-paced, materialistic, impersonal culture can never produce the “rivers of living water from deep within” that Jesus speaks of in the book of John.
Living in peace, I am finding, requires the courage to walk outside the swirling whirlwind around me. From God’s Instruction Book: “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” (1 John 2: 15-17 NLT). “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 NLT).
Sharlene Prinsen 