SATAN
IS A
PUT DOWN
Recently I was engaging in one of my destructive little habits. You have yours, I have mine. I like chocolate. That's not the habit I'm talking about, but you understand how liking chocolate can become a problem. I noticed that I finished the process by setting the context for the next possible time I did my habit. Sometimes I buy lots of chocolate bars on sale. I'm going to eat that many eventually, right? But I'm not talking about chocolate. As I was getting things ready for next time, there came a familiar reproach. Not very scolding, more pointing out how setting up for the next time, using convenience as a rational, was just assuring that there would be a next time.
Included was the concept that "if I wanted to quit", this is not the right action.
I then verbalized the communication (to make it more real?). Almost immediately I felt the effect of the put-down, and said (without thinking, half-heartedly attempting to gain back some ground), "Jesus wouldn't be-that-way-would-give-me-slack-would-forgive-me-wouldn't put me down.
That struck way home. No, Jesus or God wouldn't use those methods to point out errant behavior. They would, at most, allow a person enough room to put himself at risk to help teach the lesson to be learned. Stringent compassion, that's God's way.
BUT!!! Who's to say that it wasn't Me telling Me that I was acting like a jerk. I know many people that not only call themselves Dummy, they even write it down in places where a host
of people will see it. Well, if I can include myself in the crowd that has the habit of putting themselves down for all their little "misdemeanors", I still have well founded hope. I know that I'm very protective of myself. I've found that most of the things that bring stress into my life are a result of Me protecting Me. This Protection Racket leads into all our actions: how we color the truth to make what we say more acceptable or sensational to the audience, how we filch little things from work, how hard we work at getting the better of others. I believe that this capacity for protection is built into us humans. Like many other natural human responses, this one seems to have ended off the natural path.
Be that as it may, I know that it's Me that I'm most concerned with. I treat myself better than I treat anyone else. I give myself a lot of slack. And you know, there's a little Defender that generally pops up when the real name-calling starts. He's the one who says, "Hey give yourself a break!" I'm very sure that I'm on My side.
If I was going to set out a plan for attaining a certain goal, I'm sure I wouldn't OK even the shortest period of Putting Down in the outline. In a moment of comic relief, I might flesh out the concept, but would never give it any serious consideration. The plain fact is that I like myself too much to cold-bloodedly determine to put myself down. It might seem like I do that now, but I KNOW I didn't start out this way. And neither did anyone else.
The answer to how I got this way isn't single. As a kid, I might've picked it up from family or peers. I may have admired someone for effacing his self. There's a certain attractiveness
about someone calling themselves a Dummy. It is a vulnerable position, firstly. We feel safe and strong around vulnerable people. We like feeling strong. We also admire the Dummy's courage for admitting his fault. By the way, it's not a good idea to try and help an unfortunate Dummy by taking up the name yourself. People usually permit only themselves to call themselves Dummy.
I might have acquired my affliction through abuse. God knows how many parents abuse their children verbally. Molestation can be effectively shut out of the memory, and a person might still live a pretty good life. A person called "My little Dummy" for 14 years might develop a habit of calling herself Dummy. I bet there are even those who have jokingly taken Dummy on as a nickname (and probably fought a lot because of it).
I don't live in any of those places. My parents never called me or themselves Dummy. I was never known as Dummy by anyone. I think I certainly picked up a great deal of my negative Baggage from my parents, but not the up-front stuff like "Dummy."
We still haven't mentioned the main source of world Falsehood. I know "The Devil" is an easy answer. But I know how the Devil works. CS Lewis taught me enough about the Devil's workings to scare the Hell out of me. The Devil will and does use the smallest, insignificant things to turn us out. He uses the things available to him within our personal context. He HIDES. The Devil is either the author of my put-down thoughts about my habit, or he pumps it up. He's NOT going to send a senior demon to materialize as some hideous ten foot monster bat that tells me to reject God or else. The more open the Devil is in trying to drag people away or off the Path, the harder they will cling to God. Screwtape was right. War is one of the worst times for Satan's forces. All those guys out in the battle are thinking about God more than they have ever.
It feels like we've flushed the Devil out from behind at least a small bush, and can claim back our dignity, energy, objectivity, and pursuit of God's way. We waste considerable personal resources recovering from our put-down attacks. Sometimes, in the fit of resolve that follows the acceptance that I was indeed Very Bad, I've made a set of rules surrounding the action. "I can only do this if....." No, that never worked either. I remember cycling. Habitual action followed by a session on the carpet, then the resolve and rules, only to be ignored with more habitual action, followed by more verbal punishment, etc. We're talking extensive involvement, large, live actions.
God forgives you. He will give you even more slack than you give you. He's not really very concerned with your destructive habits, compared to your trusting action. The only thing He wants from us is faithing; acting in trust. He's there the second you pick yourself up and face in His direction. He's interested in helping you overcome those habits and put-downs. He's NOT the one telling you how bad you are.
You know, practically every thing we get into is meant to help us learn. Perhaps after a while a person learns not to call himself Dummy, and thereby opens the door to his own enlightenment. Another way might be to start keeping an awareness of how much of ourselves we efface. And if when that put-down comes we remember that no amount of energy given it will give relief, we may be able to roll the burden off on God in an act of trust that He is really there to help us through; in fact has already started lining things up to alleviate the whole mess, habit and all.
It isn't likely that the writer of two thirds of God's New Testament was on the wrong track when he preached that only through faith could salvation be had. Paul's constant message was, "faithing saves." Works, he said, don't result in the Holy Spirit coming to be in your body. God gives His Spirit for faithing.
I don't know anyone who can sit in harsh judgement of themselves and act at the same time on God's promise of protection, forgiveness, or provision. Put-downs are lies, the Devil is the Mother of all Put-Downs, and the Father of all Lies. Be on the alert for Put Downs and you may just flush out the Devil. And who doesn't want to flush the Devil!?
Faithe.
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