Tuesday Talk…29 things I have denied

Tuesday Talk is about YOU…
Every Tuesday we engage in one big question, topic or idea. You are invited to write in with a suggestion you want to share. I surely do not have all the answers but know that together we can generate some great conversation and have fun in the process. (Feel free to post your topics, questions, and your great thoughts in the comments below!) Together, we will stay informed and equipped about topics that matter!

Denial: The refusal to satisfy a request or desire.

Earlier this week I received a message from a FaceBook User asking if I was close to a person who was on my friends list. The FaceBook User went on to tell me a story of how she sold this person something on Craigslist and on good faith (because she professed Jesus as Savior and thought she could be trusted) set up a payment plan never to hear from the purchaser again. The comment that struck me the hardest was this:

“It wasn’t just the fact she stole from me but how she went about it. I didn’t think it was right to keep quiet like she probably hoped i would. How many other people has she done this too? How many other people just gave up and let her get away with it? The reason I brought Jesus into this is because all these times she is ignoring me she is posting her love for him. Can you get more hypocritical than that???”

By writing this, I am not claiming to know both sides of the story but my heart breaks just the same. Not just for the person who wrote this note to me, but for the person who has failed (for unknown reasons) to communicate with her over the transition, leaving a negative image of Jesus in the path. And I can’t stop there. I am heartbroken at all the times, I have personally denied responsibility for not acting like Jesus and blocked someone as special as the person who wrote this from knowing Him.

Titus 1:16a says, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.”

I started a list last night of the things I have been guilty of denying.

1. My sin
2. My past
3. My needs
4. My mistakes
5. My need for love
6. My need to be seen
7. My need to be heard
8. My need to be a part of something bigger than myself
9. Community
10. Healing
11. Trusting others and God
12. Accountability
13. Repentance
14. Imagination
15. Creativity
16. Spontaneity
17. Laughter
18. Joy
19. Justice
20. Truth
21. My future
22. My health
23. God’s gifts
24. My need for security
25. My need for dignity
26. My need to be valued
27. My need for forgiveness
28. Responsibility
29. Jesus
30. ___________________________
31. ___________________________

What about you? What have you denied in your life? Go ahead, get your highlighter out if you have to. Feel free to add to the list and share this with others.

What does our denial lead too?

1. Blaming
2. Bitterness
3. Unforgiveness
4. Broken relationships
5. Victim mentality
6. Disunity
7. Excuses
8. Living in our circumstances instead of our opportunities
9. Addition
10. Passive-aggressive behavior
11. Anger
12. Depression
13. Low self-esteem
14. Unproductive living
15. Procrastination
16. Stagnation
17. Fear
18. Complaining
19. Gossip
20. Oppression
21. Poverty
22. Vanity
23. Pride
24. Sedation
25. Disease
26. Delay
27. Justification of action or non-action
28. Ungratefulness
29. Dissatisfaction
30. Resentment
31. Lack of purpose and meaning
32. _____________________________
33. _____________________________

Again, what about you? How has denial affected your life? Go ahead, get your highlighter out if you have to. Feel free to add to the list and share this with others.

Why do we deny?

The famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung said, “Wholeness for humans depends on the ability to own their own shadow.” Examining the dark side of our humanity can raise a lot of insecurities. We deny the truth to protect ourselves. Our minds deny to guard us from guilt, fear, failure, the pain of loss, grief, condemnation, loneliness and separation.

In the book, Turn Coat author Jim Butcher wrote:

“The human mind isn’t a terribly logical or consistent place. Most people, given the choice to face a hideous or terrifying truth or to conveniently avoid it, choose the convenience and peace of normality. That doesn’t make them strong or weak, or good or bad people. It just makes them people.”

The Conclusion:

We are simply imperfect and marred humans that need a grace filled, perfect Jesus. Our job is surrender, His job is wholeness.