Believe the best about yourself

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The power of words”

Our Bible verse for today: “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Believe the best about yourself”

Are you familiar with the psychological phenomenon known as “The Pygmalion Effect”? It comes out of Greek mythology. Pygmalion was a sculptor who crafted a beautiful statue of the perfect woman. He then fell so in love with his statue that he fantasized she was a real woman. His belief was so strong that the statue ended up coming alive and his belief in that reality became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Although the story is fiction, it illustrates an actual truth about human nature. The stronger we believe something to be true, the more likely it is to become true for us. That’s especially so with respect to what we believe to be true about ourselves. And that being the case, if we can help to shape someone’s belief in themselves, we can potentially change the course of their life.

That’s exactly what the classic movie “My Fair Lady” was all about. In that story, Eliza Doolittle is a simple and uneducated young woman from the lower class of London. Henry Higgs is a professor who attempts to help her modify her self-image and come to believe that she can present herself as a confident, cultured, dignified lady. He then goes about showing her how to be that lady and in due course, that is what she becomes.

As Christians the Holy Spirit is in the process of transforming us into the person God wants us to be – the person God knows we can and should be. Our job is to believe that we can become that person. We are also to believe that others can become their best selves too and we are to help them achieve that. We do that by believing in each other, encouraging one another, lifting each other up, and helping each other along in this process of transformation.

The Greeks had it right and to a large degree, Pygmalion’s story is all our stories. What we believe to be true about ourselves can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy and with words of encouragement and inspiration, we can help one another to believe the best about ourselves. We can help each other to believe that God is in the process of transforming us into our best selves.

What we believe to be true about ourselves is often what comes to be true about us. I encourage you to believe the best about yourself, work towards becoming your best self, and then help others to be their best too.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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