The swamp of self-pity (Part 2)
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Romans 8:35
It is true that we face struggle, but self-pity is not a mere struggle, but a sin that hardens the heart. This is definitely our enemy, not our friend, since it chokes our faith, kills our joy, drains our hope, fuels our anger, and robs us of our destiny to serve God and bless others. Self-pity is like a swamp that immobilizes and overwhelms us. Its goal is to keep people living a pitiful life so that they can never become conquerors in Christ.
The root of self-pity lies in our pride and ignoring God. In contrast to boasting and haughtiness, self-pity is a subtler form of pride. As Brother Zac Koo once said, "Some people exalt their misery greater than God's greatness.” Particularly self-pity tempts us to figure out things on our own and fix them ourselves, so instead of taking our trials straight to God, we are tempted to be self-absorbed and then very susceptible to attack such as blaming others, feeling unloved, and coming up with ungodly decisions.
It is men's responsibility to step out to receive God’s remedy to escape the swamp of self-pity. In order to overcome any sin, one must first repent and receive God's remedy, which is Christ's finished work on the cross. In some cases, self-pity is caused by wounded pride. Instead of nursing our wounds, we look up to the cross by releasing our wounds to Jesus since "By His stripes, we are healed." Self-pity can obscure God's character as we may not see from God's perspective.
It is also important to persevere, as self-pity thought patterns may become ingrained over time. It is important to be patient with ourselves and others when feeling self-pity. Every small step is a step forward.
Resisting self-pity doesn't mean ignoring our hurts and not seeking help to heal our wounds. In resisting the sin of self-pity, we do not slip into the patterns of self-justification and the need to "boast" about our sufferings. Rather, self-pity is a barrier to healing that hinders us to recover from our past wounds and be restored by God.
In Jonah's story, God shows mercy to the people of Nineveh and demonstrates great patience with the self-pitying prophet Jonah. May God give us a new perspective and deliver us from the pit of self-pity, so that we can follow His path filled with peace, hope, strength, and love. We need to get out of the swamp and connect with the river of life, which is the true source.
Blessing prayer: We repent and renounce self-pity, and may God help us see His goodness in our circumstances and heal our past hurts. In Jesus' name, Amen
