truth.

So many of us let our insecurities get the best of us. We strive to change them so that others will like us, or stop judging us, or so we’ll feel better about ourselves in their eyes. But i don’t think that will ever fix the insecurity, if we’re just fixing it for THEM, so THEY won’t make fun us or make us feel bad about ourselves then i dont think that really fixes anything. It’s not about changing the things about us that we feel insecure about, its about accepting them and realizing that we all have differences and things that make us unique. If we kept changing the parts of ourselves that other people were judging us for and making us feel less than for… we would never stop changing. People will always be able to find something they don’t like about us, that doesn’t mean we need to change, that just means they’re insecure. It’s an awful cycle. The only way we will ever learn to be happy is to accept those things that we can’t change and not let others judgments make us or break us. We are who we are whether they like it or not. The moment you let others opinions become more important than the opinion of Jesus, you are unconsciously deciding to let other people choose who you become. Jesus thinks youre beautiful and talented and special and strong. He believes in you and has faith in you and loves you endlessly. THAT is the opinion that matters because that opinion is truth. 

work in progress.

Matthew 7:1-5
“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.”

I think many of us have heard this verse before, most likely in a different version, but i liked the message version the most. I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine about judging others. I brought up this verse saying this verse says not to judge others, that it’s not our place and he said the verse says to first fix yourself first and then you are fit to judge others for their wrong doings. I wasnt exactly sure what to say next, but after i thought about it i realized perhaps that is what the verse is saying, but when are we ever going to be done fixing ourselves? Sure, we grow everyday and overcome temptations and move on from our past, but that doesnt mean that we are ever done growing, or done learning.I think that if a friend comes to us and asks for us to help them with their struggles and temptations, that is something different, then we can help them in love. But we will never be perfect, we’ll never be flawless, there will never be a time that comes that we can say “Well, i have fixed and perfected everything about myself, so now i will tell others what they need to make right.” That’s never going to happen, we will always be a work in progress because God will NEVER be done working in us. And that’s fine with me personally, i don’t want to ever get to a point where i feel i possibly cant grow anymore, i dont ever want to become the most i can ever be, i dont ever want to not need God to work in me more. If we think we are flawless and we’ve already fixed everything we need to fix in ourselves, then what would we need God for anymore? He will never be done working in us as long as we continue to remain humble and teachable. 

I know i talk about judging quite often, but its because i am passionate about giving each person an equal chance to be looked at as a beautiful being that God loves passionately. Do i judge? Yes, i do… i’m human. I try to be conscious of my actions and my thoughts, i hold myself responsible for them and then i try to do better the next day! I don’t write these blogs to make you feel convicted, i write them because it is what i’m learning and i want to be held accountable. :)

Matthew 22:37-39

Tonight i found myself saying “But biblically, it’s wrong.” Through most of my life, i have never had a problem with this saying, unless someone is saying it to me ofcourse, then i’m taken back. If you know me, you know that i am very passionate about ridding the world of judgment, i don’t believe it’s our place to judge others. Want to judge for yourself whats right from wrong? Go ahead. Want to judge for others whats right from wrong? Not okay. Opinions are not facts, and we cannot expect others to treat our opinions as such. Honestly, our opinions shouldn’t even matter to them, only God’s should. I believe we should pursue a life that is pleasing to God and not pleasing to ourselves, therefore others shouldn’t try to please us by taking our opinions as their own, they only need to please God. We are irrelevant when it comes to others relationships with God. Anyways, like i said, i believe we are not to judge people because thats not our place, but even though i have always believed that, in the back of my mind i still say to myself “but they are wrong in doing that.” … I am being completely vulnerable in telling you this, but i like to remain open and honest in who i am and what i’m learning so that others can keep me accountable. I still don’t believe i judged these people, i believe i loved them and i tried to view them through the eyes of God, but i still found some sort of pride by saying to myself that they were wrong in what they were doing. I am disgusted with myself, it is never my job to decide what is wrong from right in others lives. I don’t care if it’s one of the 10 commandments that God clearly states is wrong, those commandments are for me to figure out what i should fix in my own life, not what i need to tell other people they should change. We are on this earth to love God and to love people… period. Whether it’s “biblically wrong” or “biblically right” when it comes to someone else’s life and their personal relationship with God, we have no say. If we were all more concerned with pleasing God in our own lives and being with Him constantly rather than pointing out whats wrong in others lives, i’m pretty sure we would be exactly where we’re meant to be. Love people. LOVE PEOPLE. love them. I don’t think that God says to His children “I love you, but you are wrong, you shouldn’t be doing this.” I realize that many of you could disagree with that… but i believe that God simply says “I love you.” There are no conditions on His love.