Dealing With Your Inner CriticSample

In this series we are learning to bring our inner critic into keen awareness so we can compare its message to the message of Jesus. The problem with the inner critic is how we let it have its way with us. It speaks and acts without permission and without constraint. The first step is bringing it to the surface to clearly look at it. What message does your inner critic say to you? Mine tells me 3 things, each one more harsh and condemning than the last:

1) You should know better by now.

2) You are stupid and everyone knows it.

3) You are not worth loving. You are not worth anyone’s time.

When you look at this list, it is quite stark, isn’t it? Take a few moments and list the messages your inner critic sends you. It can be a brave practice, but can also be liberating to write it out and see it so plain. If you’re feeling especially brave, you could compare your list to a friend’s. Sharing the inner critic’s message with someone else is a powerful way to contain it. Hearing your friend’s and then affirming their goodness is also a way to help them. Your inner critic wants to keep you isolated, so writing it out or sharing with another can be a powerful wrangling tool.

I have spent much of my life simply allowing my inner critic to speak, but John’s invitation gives me pause to realize that ‘God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.’

Your inner critic is misguided and misinformed. It doesn’t know what God knows. God knows you are loved and accepted and God’s view of you supersedes your inner critic’s view. Take some time to talk to God about your inner critic’s message. Pause and receive God’s goodness and love in return.