Day 2 | Hurt - when I cause pain to myself

As a literature teacher, I had the privilege of teaching The Scarlet Letter. In this classic novel, a sinful pastor is caught up in Puritan thought that part of repentance required the physical and emotional hatred of self. In the text, he repeatedly treats his physical body poorly and he wreaks havoc on his emotional wellbeing. 

I remember one particular student asked, “What kinda fool would act like that?” My honest response to him was, “All of us.” 

While we may not physically beat ourselves with sticks, we definitely beat ourselves down. We are our own worst enemies, critics, haters. We often stack pain on top of ourselves as though we were trying to balance stones on top of each other. And, while we may be removed from old Puritan thoughts, we still often sit in self-hatred. Too often, the violent circulation of hurt can be traced back to our own doing. 

As we shovel brokenness into our buckets, we close off our Advocate and Supporter. Jesus wants to fill our buckets with the best parts of glorious living - forgiveness, grace, and mercy. Yes, there are consequences for our sins, but under the New Covenant, our heart repentance is enough because Christ paid the permanent price  (1 John 2:1-2). Dumping negative self-talk and hateful thoughts onto our wounds not only causes our hurt to accumulate but it denies the goodness of a Savior who has signed, sealed, and delivered us!