So, I’m really into words. I love poetry, I love writing, and really enjoy learning the meaning behind the words I use everyday. I’ve really been processing a lot of what words actually mean, and in what ways society may have structured me to believe wrongly about words that I use, rather in deed or speech.
The first word I want to discuss is flattery. All throughout Proverbs the Bible tells us that flattery works ruin, is not godly, and we should guard ourselves against it. The enemy often likes to try and give us counterfeit options for things. The Bible tells us to encourage and strengthen each other with our words, and often we can think flattery is encouragement. You tell someone they’re beautiful and they respond, “oh I’m flattered!” What seems to be the dividing factor between encouragement and flattery though is the heart. When you flatter someone you are complimenting them for your own gain. So you tell them something good about them expecting either to hear something from them about yourself in return, to build yourself up in their eyes so they will think you are a great person or want to be your friend, hoping to get something from them after complimenting them “buttering them up” in a sense, basically only complimenting that person for your own gain or self interest. Which is super easy to do.
Encouragement, however, is done from a pure heart. It is genuine and deeply sincere. It has conviction on it that calls the person you are encouraging higher, and challenging them into their true sonship. When you encourage someone you call them higher and expect nothing in return. You don’t say those things in order to hear something back, in order that they do something for you, or in order for them to like you more or think you’re a great person. You aren’t trying to gain anything. You are only trying to build that person up. The process of building someone up is calling them higher and it is pushing them higher.
In the Kingdom where your heart is at is everything. Your heart behind your action is what makes the difference between you glorifying The Father or you glorifying yourself. That is our constant struggle between our flesh man and our spirit man. Our flesh wants to glorify itself (ourself) but our spirit man wants to glorify the Father. So, everything done from your spirit points to the Father.
Another set of words I want to look into are pride and insecurity. We all know being prideful and haughty is a no go all through out the Bible. We see everywhere pride comes before the fall and that humility is key to living a pleasing life before God. However, what we seem to model humility after is insecurity. We think if we look down on ourselves we are actually being humble, because we are thinking lowly of ourselves. When in fact insecurity is just another form of pride. Beating yourself up is just another form of pride.When we think we are so incredible that we don’t need God, and that all we want to do is glorify ourselves that is one form of pride. However, when we think so lowly of ourselves and walk in insecurity we are actually on the other end of pride. We are saying who God says I am and made me to be isn’t enough. So, I’m going to take on the responsibility of being God and I’m going to declare who I am. I’m going to walk in condemnation because I don’t think His sacrifice was enough for me, and I think that I have to punish myself for my sins and shortcomings instead of accepting His forgiveness. Insecurity is saying God I don’t like how you made me so I’m going to pick myself a part and take on the role of creator to try and mold myself into something different, because I don’t think you did a good enough job. Insecurity is a form of pride that causes you to glorify yourself because you glory in your self pity. You just focusing on yourself rather positively or negatively is pride, because you are focused on you and glorifying you.
Now the key is to walk in a quiet confidence. One where you know who you are because you know who God says you are from Scripture. A confidence where you don’t have to ever defend yourself because you so know who you are in Christ that you know the truth, and that truth sets you free. Free from having to defend yourself or prove anything to anyone. Jesus never once defended himself, because He so knew who He was as a son, and we are invited into that same confidence. It’s just a total trust and dependence on Jesus. We have to look in Scripture and declare over ourselves everyday who Christ says we are. NO MORE negative self bashing, WE DONT HAVE TIME FOR THAT! There’s a world that needs to see sons and daughters rise up and know their identity and walk in that.
Lastly, I want to look at the words politeness and kindness. Now this is still a formulating thought so take it with a grain of salt. But often, as Christians, we think we should be overly polite. I call it Chic filet nice. (I love Chic filet, and their customer service is bomb but you know what I mean) Where it’s like a forced niceness that doesn’t feel genuine, and is just surface. Where you’re like overly polite, but your motivation is to get something from the person you’re being polite to. So, you do something in order to get something. However, God doesn’t call us to be polite but kind. It says in scripture that His kindness brings people to repentance. So, we need to operate out of Jesus’ kindness not out of our human politeness. Because when we walk in kindness we are drawing people to Christ. Kindness is when you do something for someone from the most genuine place, and expect nothing in return. It’s doing things with no strings attached. Everything is about where your heart is at, and as Christians we are called to prefer others above ourselves. We are called to operate out of selflessness. To be intentional and sincere in our approach with humanity. To give even when we don’t get, and in our own strength we cannot do this. We have to completely depend on Holy Spirit in order to operate in constant kindness. Because in our own strength we will fail every time.
I mean guys I don’t have any of this figured out. I’m insecure everyday. I’m prideful at moments and think I’m Gods gift to earth, and in the same day think I’m trash and a jerk. I flatter people and tell them they’re pretty because I’m longing for someone to look at me and tell me I’m beautiful, because I’m longing for attention when I can just be satisfied in Christ; but instead i’m trying to be fulfilled from someone else’s opinion of me. So, I am not writing any of this from a place of always getting these things right. It’s just some things I’ve been learning and growing in lately. Pray about it and see how God reveals himself to you through quiet confidence, genuine encouragement, and constant kindness.
Liv
