Many believe that we cannot really be our true selves until we align our identity, purpose, and destiny with God. The Psalmist said, “God delights when truth reigns in our inner most being.” Ask yourself: do you always welcome the truth? If we are honest, there are times when we do not always seek the truth.
Remember that pride prefers deception to truth and does not realize by doing so it prefers destruction. However, God desires truth in our humanity and in the Bible says that his truth will set us truly free. Do you recall a time in the past when you were not truthful about yourself? The Bible tells a story about King David who having a problem being truthful learned how blessed it was to be honest.
King David said, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heart of summer. I acknowledged my shortcoming to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the lord.” The Psalmist blows a clarion horn to humanity when he said, “to thine own self be true.”
We should stay true to ourselves. Ask yourself: how do my feelings and intuitions define me during conflict. Do I stay true to my values? Self-confidence in who you are is paramount to be true to yourself. Remember God gave us a “spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” This spirit is a great gift given to us from God.
Much of what a person works with in life is formed at an early age and many people are set in their ways. Influences like our parents play a significant role in who we are and how we interact with the world. Some of these preformed personalities are pleasing to God and some are not.
Some people need discipline, care, boldness, courage and imagination to have any real chance of shaping their characters and becoming true to themselves. So, how do your feelings and intuitions define you? Are you true to yourself? Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Dr. Walter Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
