Week 47—Monday Galatians 2:20-21
Week 47—MONDAY
Galatians 2:20-21
THE THREE DICTUMS OF MODERN PSYCHOLOGY
We have seen that the faiths which come out of India are personality weary. Contrary to this attitude, modern psychology emphasizes the opposite: Know yourself, accept yourself, express yourself. Just as I would reject the Indian attitude toward personality, so I would reject the modern attitudes as they stand. First, you cannot know yourself by studying yourself. You must know yourself in relation to something beyond yourself—you must know yourself in relation to God and God’s plans and purposes for you. Second, you cannot accept yourself when the self is an unacceptable self—full of conflicts, fears, resentments, unresolved problems. Third, you cannot express a self that is full of itself and unresolved problems. Get a dozen people like that in one situation and the situation is set for clash and confusion and strife.
What is wrong with this list of modern psychology? It needs one thing in front of these three: “Surrender yourself.” When you surrender yourself, then everything begins to add up to sense. Surrender yourself to God, and then you know yourself in relation to God. You know yourself in regard to an unfolding destiny as a child of God. You now see you are to be “changed into [God’s] likeness.” Now you not only know yourself, you can accept yourself. For you now have an acceptable self—a self under redemption. You can love yourself. The Christian faith teaches self love: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Now you love yourself in God—not in yourself which is egoism, but in God which is consecration. You love God supremely and yourself subordinately. God accepts you so you accept yourself: God loves you so you can love yourself. So then all self-loathing, self-rejection, self-hate drop away and you stand accepted by God and thereby by yourself.
O Jesus Lord, you are teaching me how to live with myself, for I’m learning how to live with you. And now since I am able to live with you, I can live with others and with myself. Blessed adjustment. I am grateful. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: Since in Christ I am acceptable to God, now I’m acceptable to myself.