Removing Self-Hatred
Psalm 139:13-18
We were entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character.
Many of us have spent our lives trying to be someone we're not. Our addictive/compulsive behaviors may revolve around this desperate attempt to escape from ourselves. Maybe we have difficulty accepting our personality, our appearance, our handicaps, even our talents. Perhaps we spend our lives trying to be what someone else wants us to be because we feel that who we are is not enough. We may do all we can to distance ourselves from our inner being because we are so deeply ashamed of who we are.
Self-hatred is a defect of character that needs to be removed. It breeds the sin of covetousness, that is, longing to be in someone else's situation or have what they have. The psalmist wrote, "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it" (Psalm 139:14). Saying we are God's "workmanship" means that we're unique and beautiful masterpieces, works of poetry. Beauty and value are designed into our very fiber, by virtue of our Creator.
One important step in our recovery is to allow God to remove self-hatred, helping us to value ourselves for who we are. We have been miraculously created and we are treasured by God. And this has been true since the time in our mother's womb, long before we could do anything to earn it! As we begin to see how unique and special we are-embraced and accepted by God himself-our strides toward recovery should grow faster and longer.
We need to see ourselves as God does-a creature, wonderfully crafted, made by the very hands of God.
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