Title: *The Sin Of Self-pity

Wise Thought: No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges - - always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives. ~ Oswald Chambers, Hebrews 13:5 ...be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. † Recovery Prayer † My Lord Jesus, Self-pity is so destructive. I am like a dog chasing its tail, uselessly exhausting my energies and getting nowhere. I do not want to become a spiritual sponge, always taking, never giving and never being satisfied. You promised that You would never leave me nor forsake me. Your promise casts out all self-pity and replaces it with hope, encouragement and peace. Amen. COMMENTS AND DEEPER STUDY 1. Rejecting the impulse to feel sorry for ourselves,  is not easy. Life provides many opportunities to experience rejection, injustice, and the cruelty of man. Our natural response is self-protection, which often results in self-pity. However, we can choose to walk by the Spirit, and . . . not gratify the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16). We can refuse to indulge our sin natures and choose instead a grateful heart, trusting that it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose (Phil 2:13). We can look at every opportunity to indulge in self-pity as chance to defeat that old nature. We can choose instead to trust that God will work everything for the good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28) 2. Clearly, self pity is a major block to spiritual growth  and I believe there is nothing more grievous to the Spirit of God than a whining Christian . We are to be about allowing the Spirit to conform us into the image of Christ, which means we are to be changed in thought and deed to think as He thinks and do as He would do. There are no passages in the New Testament that present Jesus complaining about or bemoaning His experiences. Jesus just accepted the will of His Father and was obedient by faith. Christians involved in self pity can’t be filled by the Spirit and the ability of Christ to live out His Life through them is thwarted. 3. We believe the promises of God. If self-pity is the result of feeling cheated, then we remember that every Christian is an heir of God's promises! What does God promise those who love Him Everything! And if we believed the promise, we'd be slow to feel sorry for ourselves. When times get hard, those who have sunk into apathy curl up in self-pity. Conversely, the faithful patiently and quietly wait, trusting God to make things right in His perfect time. Those who pity themselves because of the circumstances of their lives fail to see God at work in them, while the faithful understand that God always has their best and eternal interests at heart. 4. Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult?  Why shouldn’t they be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God’s riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self- interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges— always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives. 5. Self-pity is one of the sins against love.  Having compassion for others is an attribute of love. But when we pity ourselves, we only love ourselves, not others. Our love is on the wrong track; it has a false object. Although our love should really belong to our neighbours, we withdraw it from them and become guilty of withholding love from them. Self-pity belongs to the 'ego-illnesses'. We pamper our egos, in which this sin sits; yet this sin will have to die if the new man is to arise. 6. Here is what the Bible teaches:-  *James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks reproach, and it will be given him.* *Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.* *No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.* 7. When times get hard, those who have sunk into apathy curl up in self-pity. Conversely, the faithful patiently and quietly wait, trusting God to make things right in His perfect time. Those who pity themselves because of the circumstances  faithful understand that God always has their best and eternal  8. For most of us, self-pity usually comes from a feeling of  being treated unfair. Next, we start to compare ourselves with  others and start to feel sad for ourselves. This could be at  work, school or with family. Self-pity says “I deserve better  than what I have.” So maybe your boss doesn t give you that  promotion you felt you deserved. Often, the result can be you  going into a lot of self-pity and possibly starting a pity  party, (more on pity parties later). Or maybe you see the  other students at your school with a boyfriend or girlfriend  and start to feel self-pity because you don't have one.  9. It is no longer a question for us of being saved from hell,  Jesus did that. It is about being saved in order to manifest  the life of the Son of God in our mortal flesh. You must keep  yourself fit to let the life of the Son of God be manifested,  and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to Self Pity.  Our circumstances are the means to do this. They are the  vehicle in which we can manifest how wonderfully perfect and  extraordinarily pure the Son of God is. Every new circumstance  whether it is good or bad ought to make our heart beat for it  is a new way of manifesting the Son of God. We look to God who  is all powerful, not to the puny problem that is before us. 10. We are made 'partakers of the divine nature,' receiving and  sharing Gods own nature through His promises. Then we have to  work that divine nature into our human nature by developing  godly habits. The first habit to develop is the habit of  recognizing Gods provision for us. We say, however, 'Oh, I  cant afford it.' One of the worst lies is wrapped up in that  statement. We talk as if our heavenly Father has cut us off  without a penny! We think it is a sign of true humility to say  at the end of the day, “Well, I just barely got by today, but  it was a severe struggle.” And yet all of Almighty God is ours  in the Lord Jesus! And He will reach to the last grain of sand  and the remotest star to bless us if we will only obey Him.   11. Self-pity is sin for two big reasons. First, because  it’s saying something about the character of God, saying that  he’s not good or loving or kind since he must be withholding.  Second, self-pity is sin because it’s saying something about  your importance, your entitlements, your rights. Perhaps,  then, self-pity is not the root at all but rather springs out  of our unbelief (towards God) and pride (towards ourselves).  Even so, it’s a particularly powerful expression of these  other sins; a concoction that always produces a reaction. 12. Self-pity is actually a form of self-sabotage. When  we pity ourselves, we give ourselves a LOT of slack. For  example, things just haven’t been going well for me so I can  have a little break from reading the Bible, doing my best,  being kind, etc. When we validate self-pity in our lives, we  ensure our own unsuccessfulness. It’s a cycle of self-defeat.  The more we cause ourselves to fail, the more we pity  ourselves and the more we give ourselves permission to do less  than our best. 13. Here is what the Bible teaches us:-  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”. Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  14. Self-pity is fleshly and carnal minded.  Joy is the by-product of the spiritual life. [ b] Galatians 5[/b] tells us that one aspect of The fruit of the Spirit is joy. It's the fruit of abiding in Jesus and walking in the Spirit. What is not of the Spirit is flesh. Obsession with self in these matters is a  dead end; attention to God leads us out, into the open,  into a spacious, free life. Romans 8:6 15. The spirit of self pity can be a spiritual stronghold  of thinking, and might need more help such as deliverance  prayers. Jesus came setting the captives free from  generational curses, bondage's, demon possession, through  Spiritual Warfare by renewing the mind, etc.  *THE SIN OF SELF-PITY CAN LEAD TO DISHARMONY - Rev.Bola  Peace and Love Rev.Bola [From My Bible Study And Journal Notes On:] {*VICTORY OVER SELF-PITY*}