for our level of self-awareness. Self-acceptance without unusual self-awareness is what Jesus referred to as the “leaven of the Pharisees” — imagining one is a good guy, a God-follower, when in fact, we are the evil, the wicked — followers of ourselves, willful, agendafied, defensive, proud, competitive, judgmental, confident-we-know-what’s-best, wise in our own eyes, leaning on our own understanding. Hypocrites we are. This lack of self-awareness plagues all humans, but in my experience, organized religion, including the Christian religion, undermines self-awareness because we wanna BE better, DO better. Performance-idolatry weirds humans.
Only those Christians with unusual self-awareness need to be grown in self-acceptance. This is exacerbated by the lack of self-awareness in Christian leaders, and the resultant dishonesty in the Church, so that Christians with unusual self-awareness feel like losers, failures, unworthy, unqualified for leadership. Self-contempt, not self-acceptance. Pride, not humility.
Christians with unusual self-awareness need a lot of Gospel-centered teaching/preaching/reading, so hopefully as the Spirit works over time, they have a sufficiently deep foundation of grace — Gospel-awareness, to be able to look even-FURTHER inside and recognize the pride in their lack of self-acceptance. A humble believer cares NOTHing for his own worthiness, finding the imputed worthiness of Jesus to be more than ENOUGH.
In my experience, the Gospel-awareness that can facilitate unusual self-awareness and self-acceptance is not enough to produce happiness — love, joy, peace. Sovereignty-awareness is also needed as a believer goes through each day, especially harrrrd days.
So what offers hope to Christians with way-too-much self-acceptance and not-nearly-enough self-awareness? Only the convicting work of the Spirit of Jesus, enabling believers to look deeply inside and see the awful truth about ourselves. It’s just too scary to look inside without a growing foundation of grace so there is Gospel-awareness throughout the day. Serge’s Mentored Sonship Course has been used of Jesus to grow Gospel-awareness in many Christians, and though it only provides a beginning, I highly recommend it. Not Sonship, but MENTORED Sonship. Even so, far-more self-awareness is needed, over a long time, to grow Christians who are Jesus-dependent ENOUGH to be reproducers — contagious to the seculars around us. In my not-so-humble opinion.
— Dave McCarty, GospelFriendships, who has no idea how to help nonChristians with unusual self-awareness grow in self-acceptance, because the Gospel of God’s unconditional love for forgiven sinners provides enormous acceptance/security/safety
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