Conference yukon::christian_v7

154.0. "Significance and Security" by GUCCI::BPHANEUF (On your knees! Fight like a man!) Sun May 23 1993 19:04

     I need to respect myself as a worthwhile person. Sometime, I don't feel
     like a person at all. But, I need to feel whole. I must like myself,
     accept myself. In order to really accept myself, I must be a somebody.
     I cannot accept myself if I don't matter to anyone or anything. I must
     be able to regard myself as important; I must matter somewhere; I must
     see myself as able to do something that is meaningful to someone. But
     even if I have that, it isn't enough. If I really am able to fell like 
     a worthwhile person, I must be loved by another person, loved
     unconditionally, accepted just as I am without demand or pressure. If
     I am loved because I behaved well, I am under pressure to keep on
     behaving well. I know that I might not. Therefore, I could lose love. I
     must be loved with an acceptance that I cannot lose, no matter what I do.

     Ultimately, I have one basic personal need - a sense of personal worth,
     an acceptance of myself as a whole, real person. This need requires two
     kinds of input for its satisfaction - significance (purpose, importance, 
     adequacy, meaningfulness), and security (love - unconditional and 
     consistently expressed; permanent acceptance).

     True significance and security are available only to the Christian who
     is trusting in Messiah Yeshua's perfect life and substitutionary death
     as his or her sole basis of acceptability before a holy G_d, to whom he
     or she remains totally accoutnable. When the resources of G_d are not
     available because of rebellious unbelief, the individual is left with
     no hope for genuine significance and security.

     Therefore, I am accountable to Father G_d for how I then live. If I
     understand accountability, but not acceptability, I will live under
     presure to behave well in order to be accepted. If I understand
     acceptability, but not accountability, I will harden my heart to G_d's
     Holy Spirit and become casually indifferent to sin in my life. When I
     understand first my acceptability and then my accountability, I will be
     constrained to please the One who died for me, fearful that I might
     grieve Him, not wanting to, because I love Him.

                                       Christian Psychologist
                                       and Counselor,
                                       Dr Larry Crabb

    
    Yes!!!