Is self-pity a sin?
We had a pretty good conversation about it and at some point I'll tell you where we landed. Until then, what do you think?
Wednesday
What Do You Think?
A friend asked what she thought was a question in passing -- but some things I just can't let go, you know. A good question gives you pause and many opportunities to think and consider. I think this question was a good question:
We had a pretty good conversation about it and at some point I'll tell you where we landed. Until then, what do you think?
We had a pretty good conversation about it and at some point I'll tell you where we landed. Until then, what do you think?
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7 comments:
Here is my comment which I just deleted from above because I'd left out an article. Couldn't let it go, and the "the" I added may not clarify what my tired brain had to share.
Off the cuff. . .I'd say it depends. Everyone is going to have some moments of "oh, poor me," but I think the sin of the matter hinges on if you wallow in it or if you catch yourself before falling face first into the mire-- whether you decide to count your blessings or take a mud bath.
What a great question Sarah. We have all been doing some deep thinking in West Monroe at WFR. A friend at church left her husband this week and moved in with a guy in her neighborhood. It is the saddest thing. Anyway, she has 3 kids and she claims that she never loved him and has never been compatible with him. I knew she wasn't happy and she had many things to feel sorry for herself. Nothing major, just not happy. I just wonder if we are really supposed to expect perfect happy lives from God. I am thankful to be blessed with a great family, but what about the people that we know that just struggle through. The ones that do have major things to overlook. Should she have just put her big girl panties on and just dealt with things? I know when I start feeling sorry for myself and I am focused on me I tend to be unproductive. When I help other people, I am not worried about me. About a year ago, I noticed a change in her. The confident, unselfish, Godly woman I used to look up to slowly faded and turned into this selfish person I didn't recognize. Little things like pawning her kids all the time. I should have gone to her a year ago when I noticed the little things. Even if it made her mad. I don't know if self pity is a sin, but I guess it can easily lead you down a bad path.
I am not talking about the self pity that you feel because you have to go to your husband's office party on a sacred Fri.nt.
No good can come from self pity. Like Roxanne I don't think that the fleeting moment of self pity is a bad thing, just don't hang out there once you realize that is where your head is at. Jesus tells us that we are a city on a hill, a light that can not be put out, and I don't think that we represent Jesus and our hope in Him when we are living in pity.
We all have thorns and struggles and I think that our testimony comes when we can shine the light of Jesus in the midst of the darkness.
But, we are not perfect beings, we were not created to be, and I think that in any struggle we have or sin we struggle with as long as we look to the Lord and ask Him to help us do better tomorrow than we do today then we are on the right track, and that shines the light of Jesus.
I don't think God minds much if we bemoan our existence every once in a while, we being feeble humans and all. He understands what it feels like to be angry, sad, or frustrated by what life throws our way at times. He doesn't question our frustrations and pain, even our deepest pain, but he does ask what we are going to do with that pain. He asks what we are going to do with our discontent. What we are going to do with that heavy bag of stinking trash we are dragging behind us everywhere we go. Therein lies the crux of the matter, and how we choose to answer that question makes all the difference.
From my experience, self-pity usually occurs when I'm comparison shopping: i.e, looking at my own present condition in comparison to something else--and usually that something else falls in the category of "how life is supposed to be" vs. how life is actually working for me.
I don't know if it's a sin or not, but I do know that self-pity makes you feel lousy. And when you feel lousy, you aren't usually doing too many good things in your family or in the world.
Blessings on your day, Sarah.
Jana Anderson
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