THE DANGERS OF FALSE SELF

 

THE DANGERS OF FALSE SELF

BY: MATTHEW COBBINAH

Greetings esteemed reader, trust you are in good health and sound?

I pray that the Lord will minister to you as you read this piece

Hallelujah

Father, I avail myself as your able vessel, use me to communicate your deep inspirations and mind to your child. At the end of it all, all glory and honor will be directed to you. Amen

Hallelujah

I am teaching today on the subject THE DANGERS OF FALSE SELF

The concept of self, is a life-long concept which is even taught in schools, because of how complex it could be

The Bible-believing Christian knows that he/she is a sinner, that in himself/herself dwells no good thing, and that in himself he/she has no merit with God;

Yet, like a paradox, at the same time, he/she also knows, as a creation of God, created in God’s image and redeemed by His grace, he/she has value and purpose in life.

So, the question is how do we hit a proper balance?

When should you know that you are creating a false image for yourself?

And when should you know that you are expressing your real self?

This is a question of concern

Some people are living the opinions and ideas of others

People are living just to cover up a false self they once created for themselves

Imagine, telling everyone in school that your parents are rich and they drive big cars, which you know it is not true!

Meaning for the remaining years of your life in that school, you can’t allow your parents to visit you in school

If any of your parents mistakenly come to your school to visit you on a visiting day, you will have to either deny your parent or hide your parent

This is a real danger of false self

Romans 12:3 says,

For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith.

This is Paul’s admonition to believers

Why should you put on a false self?

Why should you pretend as if things that are not there, are there?

Why must you tell everyone things that are not true about you?

Whenever you falsely create a self for yourself, you are directly telling God that He didn’t create you well

You are directly telling God that He doesn’t know what’s good for you

There are things that are naturally unchangeable

Yes, they are called UNCHANGEABLES, and you cannot do anything to change them

So the earlier you embrace them the better

Things like, our ancestors, families, time in history, race, national heritage, gender, physical features, mental abilities, aging, etc

You cannot change them

No matter how you hide anything that’s unchangeable, sooner or later, they will be known

If you continually put on a false self, you will gradually develop a dangerous spirit, which can amount to killing people unapologetically, just to defend that false created self

Just be you

Embrace who God has made you

If that condition in your life is clearly contrary to God’s word, you can pray about it

But if it is not against God’s will, there’s no reason putting up a false self to it

There are instances where a believer must go through some prisons and shames before receiving the needed glory or breakthrough

And in such cases, you don’t pretend it is not there

You don’t pretend the prison is not there

You don’t hide it from your life

Gladly accept it, because only God knows why certain things happens to us

If you are fortunate to come from a good family, thank God

If you are less fortunate to come from a less privileged family, thank God for it as you trust God for a better future

On that note, you must learn how to live as such

Some people have put on false self in churches, schools, society, workplaces, associations, etc.

They have created images for themselves which are untrue

These lifestyles are killing them slowly, yet they can’t stop it

They always think about what people will say, if they should stop

Some people have exalted themselves in their churches, to the extent that every Sunday, they must put on new wigs or hair or attire or shoes

They have made it a must that every Sunday they must go to church with matching attires and shoes

Yet most of these people struggle to buy food to eat

They struggle to cater for their dependencies, including their families

They struggle to pay their bills

They are owing people and they’re always being held by their lenders, yet they are trying to maintain a false self

The question is, who do these people think they’re doing?

Themselves or who?

If you are owing and yet the money to use to pay the debt, you will use to buy wig or shoes for yourself, just to impress people, does that pay your debt?

Dear onw, I want us to know that false self is very dangerous and destructive

Now many have made themselves popular and famous, calling themselves celebrities

But is it compulsory to be a celebrity?

Is it compulsory to be popular?

These so-called celebrities have to maintain a certain standard of living, and they always find it wanting

They always find dubious means to maintain that standard of living

Please, if you don’t have, accept that you don’t have and play your cards as such

That is not self-negation or low-self esteem

It is self-awareness, you are aware of who you are and where you are coming from

Some people depend on their families and so they live as such

But if your family depends on you, you don’t behave like those who depend on their families

Don’t put up any false image out there, because when those people go home, their families will feed them, but should you go home, you are going to feed your family

The difference is huge

Don’t fall for unnecessary peer pressure, it will kill you before your time

If you acknowledge your weaknesses, God sees it and help you

Because heaven helps those who acknowledges their weaknesses

Matthew 5:3 says,

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Poor in spirit means, those who genuinely recognizes the need to be helped by God

How will God help you whilst you are living as if you don’t need any help?

Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:8 that,

So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, a prisoner for his sake, but by God’s power accept your share of suffering for the gospel.

Can you imagine that?

Paul is telling us that, we shouldn’t be ashamed to be his co-sufferers in the Lord

We must truthfully accept our portion of the suffering

If your father is a farmer, why should you hide?

If your mother is a trader, why should you hide her?

If you come from a less privileged family, why trying to pretend as if you come from a wealthy family?

If you do that, aren’t you driving suitable helpers away from helping you?

Please, know where you are coming from, so you can be guided by where you are going

Money cannot buy spiritual gifts or talents

So don’t think coming from a rich family, can buy you a spiritual gift; No, it doesn’t work that way

I'm not saying you can't have a gift when you come from a rich family, No I'm not saying that

If somebody has any gift and you like it, there is no reason in discrediting or backbiting the person

Don’t pretend as if you can also do, when you know you can’t do it

Honor the person and celebrate the person, in so doing, the Lord may bless you with the same gift or even higher

Don’t put on a false gift, just to cover up your jealousy for another person’s genuine gifts

“If God wishes to bless others more than you, if they are famous and you are unknown yet, if they are wealthy and you are yet to be wealthy, if they are highly gifted and you are less gifted (in the sight of men); what is that to you?"

Does it subtract from you? Does it decrease you?

Then why hating that person?

Why trying to forge something just to discredit that person?

I entreat you dear one. to accept who you are in Christ and learn to live within your true identity

God created you in His image, so act on your true identity in Christ

Don’t invite troubles for yourself?

I remember way back in SHS at Shama Senior High School

When we went to school first in SHS 1, you will hear people saying their grades

Some will say I had 7As, others will say 8As and stuffs like that

I was very tensed whenever I hear them say that, (not that I didn’t have better grade, I had one of the best grades).

So whenever we write exams, I always desired to see the marks those people got, and it will surprise you, they were all trailing

So I kept asking myself, were they not they same people who said they came with all As?

Please and please again, don’t follow people blindly. Some people are just living a pretentious life, just to cover up a life-long lie they once told. Don’t follow them

If they tell you they are that and that, just thank God for their lives and move on

Don’t let anyone usher you into any lifestyle which you cannot maintain

It is good to maintain a low-profile life and later to be seen by people with praise than to live a prideful life to be seen by people with disgrace

You can’t disgrace your future

You can’t disgrace your family

And you can’t disgrace your loved ones

I pray for you, that you will be able to maintain your true identity as God’s beloved child

I pray that you will not fall for any false identity, in Jesus’ name

Any self that you might have put on, I pray that God help you to drop that self, in Jesus’ name

Amen and amen

God richly bless you for reading this piece

Leave me a comment, how the piece blessed you. Thank you

Shalom

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