A sober self?
Soul Snack 9/208 ... Feeling Bad? - A
So often the extremes of life inform our judgements, impact our realities.
"All bullders are bad, because mine was dishonest" or "all politicians are wonderful because mine helped me." Neither statement can be correct.
Is life a battle to find the informed middle ground for all choices within all life's chances?
The unremitting self-deprecation of the horribly assaulted human spirit is no more accurate than the unrestrained self-elevation of a most successful human spirit. Both end in a myopic indulgence that neither reflects truth nor grasps reality.
"Self - hatred is an indecent luxury that no disciple can afford . Self-hatred subtly re-establishes me as the centre of my focus and concern.." (p101 ."The Signature of Jesus" - B.Manning)
In a faith that promises abundance and in a world that steals it, the battle for correct self- regulation rages.
The boundless grace to know the love of another, to be the object of another's affections and to be invited into their inner-most secrets are drivers beyond the depth of explanation. Yet even this grace is marred (maybe even destroyed) by unhelpful self-perception.
To manage well a healthy self-image, that pursues no extremes and does not corrupt, is life energising. The God-given thirst for relationship is then accessible and unpolluted. It is the seed for relational and spiritual health. It will yield a life of abundance.