A friend of mine who's a counselor read my post on Spiritual Identity Theft and forwarded on to me four false beliefs people believe that keep them from becoming who God made them to be. They're good, so I thought I would share them with you.
My worth as a human being depends upon my performance. Guys are especially vulnerable to this one as the bread-winner of the family. If you don't produce, you're worthless. If you don't generate income, pack it in. Having been laid-off in September, I can understand and relate to this lie. This one will sabotage you as easily at 7 years old as it does at 70. Your worth does not depend upon your performance. Your worth depends on what God says you are. And He loves you for who you are and too much to let you stay that way.
My worth as a human being depends upon others' opinions of me. When I was a kid, I wasn't popular. I wanted to be, but instead I was the outcast, year after year. Except summer camp. One year, I was shocked to discover that others considered me the most popular guy at camp. By that time, ironically, I had started to understand that it didn't matter what others thought of me. When I was rejected, it still hurt, but I had found that playing the game would drive me crazy. A person who believes this lie hands all his power over to his peers.
Those who fail deserve punishment, including me. This is another lie that guys are vulnerable to, because it goes hand-in-hand with the performance lie. It says, "If you don't succeed at your business, your family, your marriage, you're a failure and you deserve to suffer." I don't know how better to put it: failure is a part of life. Even the Steelers lose. Unless you're prepared to face failure, you aren't ready to face life. If you feel like you need to be punished for your failures, you don't understand God's grace for you. There are natural consequences for failure that we all have to deal with, but punishment goes beyond that by beating yourself (or others) up for it.
I am what I am, I cannot change; woe is me. This sometimes is a lie of convenience. "I can't change, so why try?" It is despair in it's darkest form. If you cannot change, you're hopeless. Believing it will effectively cut off any future aside from the pain you currently live under. I have my own struggles and problems. If I believe the lie that I can't change, my enemy has won. I capitulate faster than the French front in World War II, and it opens the door for other problems that will destroy me. I will say it again: God loves you for who you are and too much to let you stay that way.
Believe me, I don't like diving into psychology, popular or otherwise. I'll leave that to Oprah and Dr. Phil. Yet I find there is enormous power in these lies. Pray and ask God to show you where you might have bought into these lies and seek His solution and His truth about who you are. The Four False Beliefs are from Robert S. McGee, the founder of Rapha Christian Treatment Centers.
Posted by 
Posted by 
