Living the Abundant Life - What Excuses May Be In the Way? (Part VI)

Looking now at, "I don't deserve the Abundant Life". Or your personal variation that tells you that you are "undeserving" of goodness ...

Having grown up in the USA, and more importantly, having been in the thick of the Christian sub-culture, I am quite familiar with the notion that we are "undeserving". I regularly heard comments like this, even from the authority of the pulpit:

"We are wretched creatures."

"We are fallen and depraved."

"We are enemies of God."

"We are but flesh" (which I love to transpose into "we are but(t) flesh," or "we are but(t) dust" -- one of those verses, along with "don't cast pearls before swine", which are best said in one's one head, rather than out-loud, to those who may take personal offense from thinking themselves likened to swine and/or human posteriors -- even if the description might temporarily *fit*).

Oh yes, I know of the verses that seem to imply that we ARE undeserving ... that we ARE enemies of God ... that we are fallen and depraved. My personal and current (awaiting further revelation) view, is that much of the scriptures was written from the perspective of the ego. It's inspired by God, of course. But so are WE (we are God-breathed), and yet I see that we have egos, too. Good darned thing that Spirit co-exists alongside ego, no? Perhaps not something that God puts up with, as much as what God works within? Perhaps God lets us go into the "far cocuntry" of our own egoic thinking, just as the Father let the prodigal go, knowing that it takes whatever it takes for us to come to our senses...?

I love the verse that says we were "enemies of God in our own minds". Not for a minute do I believe that we were ever an enemy of God in God's mind.

It seems to me that if we think we are undeserving of the sunshine and rain (which fall on the "righteous" and "unrighteous" alike), then we should do some questioning of that thought. We don't have to believe everything we think, y'know.

Do any of these seem familiar:

"No matter how hard I try, nothing works out for me."

"Other people get blessed, but I guess something is just wrong with me -- I don't deserve the good stuff."

Unworthiness seems to be a self-protective mode ... it seems to protect us from exploring our worst fear: that we are not worthy of love. That we have to somehow earn love -- but we that can't do it. That there's something *wrong* with us. Much of our lives are spent either desperately covering over this supposed wrongness, or else living in a such a way that says, "you want to see wrong? I'll show you wrong!"

Unworthiness is not a protection, but that which prevents us from discovering who we really are -- how God sees us. Not the ego-projected fear of how God sees us, but how He REALLY sees us.

We can ask Him ... we can discover our true identity, worth and purpose.

If you knew how God sees you, you would smile - a LOT.

Shalom, Dena