Talk like a lady.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen: Yes, this is for you. Sure, the title speaks clearly to those of the female side of things. But I promise the premise is for all. I stumbled across this blog post on Friday, but I dismissed it because I, too, saw it as ladies-only and rbcstudents is SO not that way. Yet, as my Saturday wore on, this post kept replaying in my head. And I quickly realized how we -- guys and gals -- need to hear this. What negative talk do you tell yourself? Parents, I have also posted this on rbcparents.blogspot.com with added commentary.







by Elise Stephens


Part 1: Talking About Yourself


“I’m such an airhead. I don’t know why they haven’t fired me yet.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m a whale. Seriously. Don’t even pretend I’m not.”

I’m not sure how it got popular to talk poorly about ourselves and act like our sense of self-worth is a joke.

It’s one thing to be open about our own shortcomings, and a very different thing to put ourselves down. I had to confess this self-deprecating habit as a sin in front of a group of people a few years ago and another girl approached me afterwards and to say she did the same thing. Negative self-talk is far too common, too easy to do, and often treated too insincerely.

Trash yourself, trash God
We are God’s daughters, created in His image. This doesn’t mean we walk around with self-righteous pride or the incorrect idea that we’re perfect. But this does mean that when we call ourselves names or give harsh judgments of our character, we deface the loving perspective that our Father holds for us. Have you noticed that the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18) implies that you must be loving toward yourself? (Food for thought: Does the way that I talk about myself influence the way that I talk about others?)

“Be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom. 12:2) and look at yourself from the eyes of your heavenly Dad. A good friend has a paper taped in the upper corner of her bathroom mirror, reminding herself that she is a Daughter of the Most High. God loves her unfailingly, will never desert her, and promises to give her strength and hope for any challenge that she will meet.

Mirror, mirror on the wall
If you need help in finding these words of love and encouragement, meet with another Christian sister and explore the Scriptures together as you create your own Biblical love letter from God. Type it up and tape it to your mirror. Look that daughter of Christ in the eye and try to say something bad about her.