SELF-PITY

Have you ever heard of something called Self-Pity? Have you ever experienced it? Have you ever had a pity party? Webster’s dictionary says self-pity is “a feeling of pity for yourself because you believe you have suffered more that is fair or reasonable.” *

We don’t realize it when we’re feeling sorry for ourselves, but pity parties are very destructive, not only to ourselves but to everyone around us. Here’s why.

Self-pity drains us of our physical energy. It slows us down, and we lose motivation. It affects us emotionally and often leads to depression. It affects us spiritually as well. We don’t have the energy, or the desire to do the things God wants us to do. When we’re focused on ourselves we’re not thinking about others, so our relationships suffer.

I remember a day, several years ago, I started having pains in my chest. I also had trouble breathing. I didn’t know what was going on so it scared me to death. In a few minutes, I began feeling better and in a little while, it was like it never happened. A few days I experienced the same thing again. I thought I was having heart problems, so I went to the doctor. After a thorough examination and a stress test that I thought was going to kill me, I found out it wasn’t my heart at all. I was having anxiety attacks. When I better understood my condition, I was able to deal with it differently and the attacks became less frightening and easier to handle, and soon they were coming less often. Being informed about something helps us to deal with it more effectively.

Self-pity is something that everyone can and should live without. It’s really a tool of the devil. Not just a tool, but a weapon. The sooner we realize that fact, the sooner we can be on our way to deliverance from the oppression of Satan and his evil forces.

If you ever end up in a situation where you’re feeling sorry for yourself and throwing a pity party, here are a few things that will help get you back on the right track.

Think about Jesus and the sacrifice he made so we could be free from the power of sin and oppression. Don’t allow that sacrifice to be for nothing in your life. Both God, and Satan want our allegiance, and contrary to what some believe, we have to choose one or the other. It’s a daily choice, too, not just a one-time thing. Self-pity takes our minds off this fact and puts it on ourselves. Get your mind back on God.

Change your attitude about self-pity. Ask God to help you to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Ask him to make you sick and tired of it. Ask him to deliver you from it. Recognizing where self-pity leads, and what the end results can be, we must refuse to go down that road.

Refuse to dwell on bad thoughts and feelings. That’s a hard one, but once again, the answer is found in God’s word. Philippines 4:8 tells us to think about things that are true, things are honest, things are just, things that are pure, things are lovely, things that are of good report, and things that are worthwhile and worthy of praise.

When we do this, we will not have time for self-pity. We won’t even be thinking about ourselves and our problems when we give it all to Jesus. Kick self-pity to the curb. You know you need to. Just do it. You’ll be glad you did.

* http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-pity

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