Talkin' to Myself

We talk to ourselves all day long in conscious thoughts and then again at night (or whenever we sleep) in subconscious thought--dreams. We plan for personal success, sometimes to the benefit of others, and too often, I fear, to the detriment of others. We think about how we can make life better for a loved one--or if we are really having a good day, an enemy--and our thoughts are pure, unjumbled. We think about how we can make our own lives better and we think right until an accusation rears its ugly head or someone else's welfare poses a barrier. Then we begin telling ourselves things that just aren't true.

The trouble really starts when we ask the wrong questions. And the worst one is, "Why?" That one usually assumes we didn't get what we deserve or we got what we don't deserve. I, for one, would be dead if either of those contingencies were true. Our default would be to ask, "How?" "Why" leads to blame, guilt, and punishment; "how" leads to resolution, hope and resurrection. "Why" is past and is over--doesn't exist; "How" is future and starts now--the only reality.

If I ask, "Why," and proceed down a trail of fantasy, I will certainly become lost. If I ask, "Why," and proceed down a trail of reality I am compelled to seek retribution, many times for myself, and that can be just as destructive. If, on the other hand, I ask, "How," I am compelled to seek a solution. (My personal solution is published in my first blog--"Ten Daily Declarations" of truth which remind me that what I'm saying to myself must be true).

Our Father, God, has provided us with the propitiation. He already knows why we lie to ourselves. Like Adam, when we fail, our tendency is to lie and blame someone. It's the human condition, and our Father remembers that we are made of dust. All we need to know is the solution--Jesus.