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Idolizing Our Image 

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Idolizing Our Image
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“A man’s spirit is free, but his pride binds him with chains of suffocation in a prison of his own insecurities” ― Jeremy Aldana

 One of the root causes to a lot of problems we face within and without our lives is having an attachment to our “image” in society – whether that society be family, friendships, educational, spiritual communities, work environments, etc.  And our failure to be aware of this part of our inner self leads us on a path of great pain –  inflicted on ourselves and onto others.

What exactly do I mean by the attachment to having an image?  I am referring to how we appear on the outer shell toward those around us.  It is the obsession with being liked, with acting and living in such a way as to derive your sense of self-worth from others.  It is what Jesus describes as doing deeds to ‘be seen by men.’  And sadly it is what a lot of our modern celebrity-crazed culture is built on, and it often hypnotizes us and sets the tone for our entire lives – especially the younger generation.

A lifestyle driven by appearances.

This way of acting out within our mind can exist in absolutely any set of circumstances, especially and most dangerously under the guise of religious ‘spirituality’.  Jesus is recorded to have said the words: “If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.”  Great, I believe, because it is often undetected and much more subtle.  In reality, it isn’t authentic spirituality but a pseudo-spirituality.

There is a danger in seeking to appear spiritual, putting on the mask of looking compassionate, caring,  courageous, profound, insightful, or intellectual… when deep within it’s only to have a sense of admiration and appreciation from others.  Such a way of living actually doesn’t care for ‘the other’, but only for what it can get from the other.  It manipulates the other as a means to it’s own end – that end being it’s own gratification.

What is even more misleading about this behavior is how it blinds us from our true Spiritual identity.  Rather than living authentically from our image-bearing Self (Gen 1:27), we live out of the illusory imaginations of our mind, handed to us by society, that do not define us but only distract us.

And to take it a step further, we’re misled because when getting attached to the reactions of others, it makes us much more prone to emotional highs and lows.   The admiration or worth we try to get from others don’t last long.  It comes and goes…and when it leaves it can become  extremely low as a drug addict having withdrawal.

Walking this kind of ‘appearance-driven’ path will make you more paranoid, more self-conscious, more of a people-pleaser, and incapable of expressing real love and truth to others.

To walk in unconditional love and peace requires the recognition and insight to see this dark, shadowy part of our lives – and not to run away from it, or dismiss it, but to bring it to light.  Dr. Carl Jung said “Enlightenment is not imagining figures of light but making the darkness conscious.”  Paul the apostle said it like this: “Everything exposed by the light becomes visible – and everything that is illuminated becomes light.” (Eph 5:13)

Becoming aware of these inner rooms of our heart don’t destroy us but causes our true, conscious identity ‘in Christ’ – an eternal identity beyond appearances and passing labels – to emerge.

The challenge is real and the call to live authentically is our invitation from the Spirit.  This doesn’t mean we need to be constantly reading into the motives of others as to whether or not they are authentic.  It is our own responsibility and calling to live this out.  Moving out of falsehood into the truth will set us on a path to be an expression of Life within the world, pointing people out of the paths of self-destruction and deception into a world of lasting freedom.


Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: addiction, awareness, biblical Christianity, biblical worldview, book of genesis, buddhism, carl jung, celebrity, charismatic church, christ consciousness, Christ within, christ-like, christianity, consciousnessa, cosmic consciousness, critical thinking, deception, ego, enlightenment, followers of Jesus, freedom, gnostic, gnosticism, gospel, idolatry, image of god, inclusion, Jesus Christ, judaism, kingdom of god, liberal christianity, liberation, meditation, mindfulness, mysticism, non-attachment, obsession, oneness, pentecostal church, political, postmodern christianity, pride, progressive christianity, progressive church, psychology, relationships, religion, self awareness, self knowledge, sociology, spirit-filled, spiritual life, Spirituality, sufiism, teachings of Jesus, traditional church, truth

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