It’s easy to say that name-calling and harsh words don’t change out lives, but they sadly do. Words have the power to give us our identity, and in the same way, if they are negative, have the power to give us our insecurities. I’ve spent the last three years thinking about a comment a friend made who said I was a bad friend and people hated me. And as much as I don’t believe it’s true, it’s managed to burn an insecurity in me even now that makes we sometimes want to avoid everyone and spare them from whatever “badness” I might accidentally bring to the relationship.
I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflection lately and realizing how much my mind determines everything that I do. If I believe I’m capable of doing something, I can get it done and done well. But other times, I get really tripped up by dumb problems and off-handed comments- most of which all come back to the way that I think about myself. And far too often, I talk myself out of something that was completely within the realm of possibility because I’m so focused on a fear.
How we think about the tasks we’re taking on determines how we will walk them out. The things we do with faith and confidence usually turn out much better than the things we do out of fear and insecurity. But buried down deep and usually even more important than that issue is how we think about ourselves.
You probably realized by now, but I’m a much bigger Marvel fan than I am of DC. However, there was one scene in the movie Aquaman that I thought was really powerful. He goes to try to retrieve the trident and is confronted by a huge beast. The beast spends more time insulting him than fighting him. And I love this scene because it’s such a real picture of what happens in our life. We decide we are going to change something, or go after a dream. We end up being confronted by our thoughts and our fears. They take what is true about ourselves and twist it into something that seems broken and incapable. And if we choose to listen to those truths, we end up unable to finish the task at hand.
The creature that confronts Aquaman mutters, “You do not belong here… Never have I sensed one as unworthy as you… You dare come here with your tainted mongrul blood to claim Atlantis’ greatest treasure? So be it, half-breed… You thought yourself worthy, you thought yourself a king?”
Everything the beast says is true- truths others and himself have been repeating throughout the entire movie. He is neither fully human, nor fully merman and feels like he belongs no where because of it. It has tripped him up the entire movie. However, in this scene he finally realizes that his worth is not actually what is at question. He’s not there to prove himself because he thinks he’s worthy of something, he’s there because the task at hand is much more important than who he is.
It’s incredible to think about, because this is what the devil and even our workplace does to us. They throw in lies mixed with the truth about how we can’t handle the situation at hand because of who we are. They question our ability by placing doubt in our worth.
As a Christian in the workplace, it’s easy to get focused on who we think we are- whether or not we have gotten the degree, the standing, the position, or the respect we have been aiming for. But ultimately, the task at hand is more important than who everyone says you are. God has given you the task of walking out that degree, that job, that calling like it is a mission straight from him. And he’s not worried about how “important” you are, because you aren’t there to prove yourself. You’re there to represent the King.
Aquaman shows us well how to refocus on the task at hand instead of our worth, but the truth is, as Christians we have an identity secured already and our identity was never in question. Our identity is no longer the problem- that’s a battle that has already been fought and won. We are God’s right hand man, and nothing will ever change that. If you can keep focused not on the lies that would take you out, but on the God that never changes, you will be able to get through any problem, any struggle, any difficulty not because of how great you are, but because of Him.
I pray that as you go through this week you peel back the layers of insecurity and negative thoughts and realize at your core is an unbreakable worth that comes straight from heaven. Whatever it is you are facing, refocus on the task at hand and the God that loves you and let everything else fade away. God has got this, and his words about you remain true forever.