Have you ever believed something that someone told you, even though it seemed incredibly implausible? What is even more bizarre is that sometimes we believe lies about ourselves, things people claim that we are or labels they give us, when there is really no basis or evidence for these claims.
One evening, about 10 years ago, I was playing Taboo (or some game that was very similar) with 2 of my close friends. The concept of the game is to draw a card with a word on it, and to give the other players enough clues so that they are able to guess the word. There is a small list of other words on the card that they cannot use, and these are usually words that would make the challenge of the game practically non-existent. For example, if the word on the card was "kangaroo", you couldn't use the following words: pouch, hop, animal, Australia, captain.
So my friends and I were playing this game. Let's call 1 friend "Maria" and the other friend "Alice." It was Maria's turn to try to get Alice and me to guess. Maria drew a card, and suddenly got a big smile on her face. Alice and I knew this meant that the word was an easy one, and we were ready to guess! :) Maria said, "Okay! This is something that I just got." Alice and I looked at each other and simultaneously shouted, "A tattoo!" We were so pleased with our quick answer and our coinciding brilliance.
However, Maria looked really confused, and then shook her head. Suddenly, the 3 of us burst out laughing. Maria hadn't gotten a tattoo at all. Something about the phrasing of Maria's prompt made Alice and I instantly think of "tattoo," but that was not the case at all. I don't even think Maria wanted, or will ever want, a tattoo. And I have no idea why Alice and I both said that, with such confidence, at the same time! The correct answer was "a job." Maria had just been hired for a part-time job after school.
What was even funnier was that as soon as Alice and I screamed, "A tattoo!" with such conviction, Maria questioned this false statement herself. After our laughter died down, she told us that she had a momentary feeling of panic that she HAD gotten a tattoo. After all, Alice and I told her that she had! :) She had to double-check the card in front of her (and her memory) to reassure herself that hadn't gotten a tattoo and that that wasn't the key word.
I was reading the Christian Science Sentinel today, and there was an article in there that reminded me of this story from my childhood. The article talked about how, even though we can feel pretty confident in what we know, all it takes is a little lie to throw us off course. We may be CERTAIN that we don't have a tattoo, or that we are good at our job, or that our cooking skills are pretty good. But then one seed of doubt comes along, one bad review at work, one child who doesn't like vegetables, and all our confidence goes out the window.
In my experience, it has been essential, even life-saving, to know what is true about me. When doubts try to walk through the door of my thought, or climb through the windows, or even dig a hole under the foundation of my house (they can be pretty persistent sometimes!), I have to hold onto what I know to be true. Some of these truths about me are that I am a beautiful creation of God, made in His image and likeness, I have many good qualities, and that God loves me, has always loved me, and will always love me. These are the facts of my identity, and I should not believe any lies about who I am or what my true identity is.
In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, she says, “Stand porter at the door of thought" (Page 392). Sometimes when I am questioning my identity, or my goodness, I think of this passage and it reminds me to be in control of the thoughts that I have. I ask myself, "What am I letting in to my thought?" If it is not positive, doesn't uplift me in any way, or is not from God, does it really belong there?
It may seem preposterous to suddenly think you have a tattoo just because someone tells you so. Along these lines of reasoning, it is also equally preposterous to believe a lie about our character or our lack of goodness. Our true nature, our truth, comes from God, and whatever anyone else tells us is only true if it aligns with what God already knows about us.
No comments:
Post a Comment