We Teach People How to Treat Us

John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

​This has been a difficult concept to accept: What we think about ourselves is important. We teach people how to treat us. If we treat ourselves badly, more than likely others won’t treat us much better. So how do I get beyond how I’ve been treating myself into a much more confident and courageous me? My first choice has to be prayer and reading my Bible. The Bible is covered in love. Many in it blow it far more than I ever have, yet God picked them up off the ground and used them to further his kingdom. The Bible also shows people who got angry, depressed, lonely, hard pressed, and the list goes on. If God loved them all so much, then why won’t I accept completely God’s love for me? Why do I struggle with feeling worthy of that love when no one is? Take a breath. Pause when you feel yourself tumbling down, to pray. God will pick you up, pour his healing balm of love upon you and show you how he can use, even you and me, to make a difference in the lives around us while teaching them to treat us better.