In my latest message series I am talking about “Self Image” and specifically this week about the effect of what others say/think about us can have. We have all been painted with the “broad brush” before – the problem is not in what others say, it is when we wear the comments on our heart and sleeve.
Can you remember the comments from your childhood or teen years that still stick like and unwelcome guest you cannot get rid of? I got thinking about these words of criticism that become self-fulfilling prophecies and then I came across this study.
In a recent experiment being published in the psychological SCience Journal a group of people were asked to wear fake (counterfeit) glasses and then given a test of honesty with a dose of temptation. Those wearing the counterfeit sunglasses were more likely to lie (30% to 71%) to lie. hard to believe just wearing fake glasses could cause that kind of behavior. It seems that simply wearing something fake can lead to “faking it”.
Here is my thought for this series – how often have the counterfeit criticism of culture led a to counterfeit behavior in our lives. Think about it, a peer a neighbor a teacher a parent says “You are _______’ and we go on living or fearing that it is true. We are wearing the counterfeit sunglasses and end up living it out in a sick self-fulfilling prophecy.
So as y ou think about this study think about what God has to say about each of us….
Psalms 23:7 says “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” and Romans 12:2 says it this way…… “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Click here to read the study. (video summary below)
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A different take on the Church, Politics, and how best to see transformation take place in people and in a nation.
