To be true to yourself means to act in accordance with who you are and what you believe.
If we know and love ourselves we will find it easier to be true to others. Just as we cannot love anyone else until we first love ourselves, we cannot be true to others until we are true to ourselves. Let us have the courage to accept ourselves as we really are, not as someone else thinks we should be. Let us not be behaving or pretending to be someone else for the sake of gaining acceptance.
Pretence starts early in life with the pressure to keep up appearances. Children are sometimes taught to let on that things are better at home than they really are. Appearances count for more than the truth does. Honesty, especially about one's feelings, may be alright but must be kept in its place, a very private place. Pretence can so easily become a way of life. Most people engage in a little sometimes.
Children are experts at it, but they usually know when they are pretending and hopefully grow out of it as they mature. Pretending adults can grow into their pretences with tragic consequences.
Self-worth comes from being true to who we are and from acting in accordance with our inner convictions. It means accepting and acknowledging our successes and our failures before God and others.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extracts from "Sunday Notes" by Fr Kevin O'Shea, Parish Priest at Sacred Heart Church Mill Hill. Guest Blogs are always welcome at the Barnet Eye
Does that extend to gay people? Just asking!
ReplyDeleteThere are many gay people in the Catholic church. In the UK I believe there are even masses that are for gay people.
ReplyDeleteJust because Christians hate sin it does not follow that they hate people who are sinners :-) Otherwise you could argue that Christianity basically hates everyone because in God's eyes none of us are perfect.
Good Guest Blog.