Hey guys, I know it’s been a long time but final year has had me sooo busy, I’ve not had time to blog. Thankfully, I’m almost finished (9 days left) so I’m picking up my laptop again (whoop lol)
I’m about to start a new blog series called “lies from the enemy” that I know will be controversial to some, but I am starting it because it will liberate us from the chains of sin that the enemy has placed on us. I already know some portions of it will be interpreted wrongly, so I will try and put as many disclaimers in where the Holy Spirit reminds me.
The first topic in this series is self acceptance.
Of recent, I’ve seen too many statuses on Facebook about “accepting yourself just the way you are” and “loving yourself including your flaws because if you don’t no one else will”, and I have to say, this view is largely (but not entirely) unbiblical – I will explain below:
- Unscriptural self-acceptance:
This view is exemplified by the statements I have mentioned above. It allows the person to detach from the sinful nature they may be engaged in, and even boast in their sinful nature. No where in the bible does it teach us to accept or love the sin in our lives, and I find that because we have bought into this lie from the enemy and do not use the biblical language of sin and repentance anymore, we are falling for this.
Ever used statements like “this is just the way I am, if you don’t like it, you can move on” or “Man, I’m saved but I’m not a fool! If you cross me wrong, you gon’ get it!” or “oh, I’m not good with money, as soon as it comes in, it goes”? If you be truthful with yourself, these statements are only used in relation to negative traits we have i.e. a bad temper or disorganisation etc. What we must also bear in mind is for all the examples I have given, we can all find ample bible verses that speak of the negative consequences that occur for engaging in such behaviours, and verses teaching us not to behave as such.
This unbiblical view of self acceptance can cause us to accept the sin in our lives, and diminish our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit so we are not convicted of our sinful behaviour and do not strive to change it.
Another example I commonly use is statements such as “man, I’m just so focused on this goal at the moment, I don’t have time for ya’ll. I’ll see ya’ll at the top.” This could be a manifestation of selfishness which is a sin that we need to repent of.
- Biblical self-acceptance:
The bibles view on self-acceptance is as follows – accepting what God says about you whether good or bad. The bible says we are kings and queens created with a purpose. The bible says we are carriers of the glory of God, bearers of His light and created in His image to be holy, righteous, and acceptable before His throne of grace.
The bible also says we are sinners, and we need Him to change our hearts.
If you find that there is sin in your life, there are ample scriptures in the bible that we should be reading to evoke the liberating and sin-destroying power of the Holy Spirit.
The bible does not teach us to embrace our sin and accept it, but to detest it, to flee from it, to run away from it, and to cry out to God bitterly for mercy so He can change our heart.
So the question I ask is this: have you accepted your sin and are you ignoring it or are you actively engaged in submitting to the Holy Spirit to change it? do you even see your sin as sin, or do you see it as “the way you are”?
Search your heart – we must be like Christ.
Don’t fall for the lies of the enemy!
**disclaimers: I’m not saying you shouldn’t love yourself, but your love for yourself should be in line with how the bible says we should love ourselves. Do not love the things about yourself that the bible says we should hate because they are the very things that our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ died on the cross for! I also am not saying that we shouldn’t be focused on specific goals and have plans that we need to actualise. These are all desirable things, but they should not make us neglect those around us or our biblical responsibilities to love and serve others. There are times to withdraw, but there is never a time for selfishness.
Yours graciously in Christ,
FatmohnScoop 🙂