One of the Adversary's Most Powerful Tools.
I've posted so much lately. Just goes to show I'm at a rough patch for a minute in life. ;) Writing is my way to feel peace and helps me process and understand my feelings a little more. Life is definitely not what you expect. There are so many twists and turns. There are many ups and downs. Through it all, we have SO much to be grateful for. Even trials that come upon us. There is so much to learn and so much strength to be gained through them. One of my very favorite talks of all time from one of my favorite people ever, was a talk given in October 2011 General Preisthood session for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was given by Elder Jeffery R. Holland. It is absolutely amazing and so full of power. Elder Holland says:
This is so extremely evident in our daily lives. Satan is most certainly real. He can have power over us, but ONLY if we allow it. He can tempt us and we have the choice to give in or hold tight to the rod of iron. He can tell us lies, and we can choose whether to believe them or not. I have been saddened as I have sat back the past few days with a heavy heart of my own. I've been dealing with some extremely hard emotions. I've been feeling invaluable and not good enough. I have been listening to the lies that Satan has been whispering in my ear
consistently. I've been finding my value not in who I really am. Not in who my Heavenly Father sees me as. But value in how others view me. Or how I THINK they see me. This is certainly, I feel, one of Satan's greatest tools. I think often we are so caught up in what others think, we don't step back and consider Who's opinion really matters. So easily I forget to focus on things that really do matter. But instead I worry more about trivial things and then allow those things to determine how I feel about myself. It kind of seems like that is a weak tool of Satan's, but it is extremely powerful. When we are so concerned with how others view us and not as concerned with how the Lord views us, that only leads to a downward spiral. I have been so upset about how one person I THINK sees or feels about me, which is not of much worth. In turn, it has taken me to a place where I let it consume how I feel, act, and view things. Worrying so much how others think of me in the past, literally about took my life. I listened, and then believed I wasn't good enough. I was annoying, fat, and ugly. I didn't remember who I really was. I didn't focus on the things that mattered most, but instead on the lies I believed that came from Satan telling me my value depended solely on how pretty I was, how skinny I was, and how liked I was by people, people that only brought me down. I did everything I could to be pretty enough, skinny enough, and accepted. Which led to an eating disorder and extreme self-esteem issues. I then started to lower my standards in who I dated because I could NEVER be good enough for someone that I always dreamed of being with. Again, this only brought more devastating consequences. These are only a couple of examples of what comparing ourselves and only finding our value according to worldly status, can eventually do. Losing self-worth is only the beginning to a very dangerous road. It may sound like I'm out in left field. However, if you think about it, people that have a lot of self-respect are more easily deterred from making choices that will only cause pain and devastation. From things as simple as choosing to value yourself enough to dress modestly, not watch or listen to inappropriate forms of media, to saying no to a drink of alcohol, or doing things that are inappropriate outside the bonds of marriage. Unfortunately, Satan has it figured out. He knows that it's more difficult to immediately get us to make choices that have completely devastating consequences and that bring nothing but misery and pain. So, he starts with the small things. He tells you you're not as talented, smart, funny, skinny, good-looking, wealthy, etc., as others. Because of that, he tells you you aren't as valuable. Unfortunately, we live in a world where more often than not, those are the things that determine how we measure value. When we start believing the lies that we aren't valuable because we don't live up to worldly criteria of value, we lose self-respect. Maybe not an ample amount at first, but over time, the more we feed into those lies, the quicker that self-respect diminishes. This is when we do what we can to feel cared about, accepted, and valued. If you don't take a drink of alcohol, they will think you're not fun so you better do it. If you don't join in on the gossip about someone else, you won't fit in. If you dress immodestly, that will be the only way boys will even notice you. And the list of these lies that Satan tells, goes on, and on, and on. All of the choices we make in life, most likely stem from our self-confidence. So, in my opinion, Satan's greatest tool is to tempt us to compare ourselves to others. He wants us to be so consumed with what the world sees as valuable, that it makes us lose our focus on what really is valuable. Trying to find our value in what others think, how others treat us, tangible possessions, or looks, is only a path that leads to misery and pain. Unfortunately, the carefree time that childhood used to bring, is diminishing at a younger and younger age. Children are not only having to face evils that when I was a child, I didn't even know existed, but they are being influenced younger by the worldly standards that so many value. In turn, they are losing self-confidence so much younger. Elder Holland also said in the talk mentioned above,
"Satan is a real being set on destroying you, and you face his influence at a younger and younger age."
"Number one, Satan, or Lucifer, or the father of lies--call him what you will--is real, the very personification of evil. His motives are in every case malicious, and he convulses at the appearance of redeeming light, at the very thought of truth. Number two, he is eternally opposed to the love of God, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and the work of peace and salvation. He will fight against these whenever and wherever he can. He knows he will be defeated and cast out in the end, but he is determined to take down with him as many others as he possibly can."
This is so extremely evident in our daily lives. Satan is most certainly real. He can have power over us, but ONLY if we allow it. He can tempt us and we have the choice to give in or hold tight to the rod of iron. He can tell us lies, and we can choose whether to believe them or not. I have been saddened as I have sat back the past few days with a heavy heart of my own. I've been dealing with some extremely hard emotions. I've been feeling invaluable and not good enough. I have been listening to the lies that Satan has been whispering in my ear consistently. I've been finding my value not in who I really am. Not in who my Heavenly Father sees me as. But value in how others view me. Or how I THINK they see me. This is certainly, I feel, one of Satan's greatest tools. I think often we are so caught up in what others think, we don't step back and consider Who's opinion really matters. So easily I forget to focus on things that really do matter. But instead I worry more about trivial things and then allow those things to determine how I feel about myself. It kind of seems like that is a weak tool of Satan's, but it is extremely powerful. When we are so concerned with how others view us and not as concerned with how the Lord views us, that only leads to a downward spiral. I have been so upset about how one person I THINK sees or feels about me, which is not of much worth. In turn, it has taken me to a place where I let it consume how I feel, act, and view things. Worrying so much how others think of me in the past, literally about took my life. I listened, and then believed I wasn't good enough. I was annoying, fat, and ugly. I didn't remember who I really was. I didn't focus on the things that mattered most, but instead on the lies I believed that came from Satan telling me my value depended solely on how pretty I was, how skinny I was, and how liked I was by people, people that only brought me down. I did everything I could to be pretty enough, skinny enough, and accepted. Which led to an eating disorder and extreme self-esteem issues. I then started to lower my standards in who I dated because I could NEVER be good enough for someone that I always dreamed of being with. Again, this only brought more devastating consequences. These are only a couple of examples of what comparing ourselves and only finding our value according to worldly status, can eventually do. Losing self-worth is only the beginning to a very dangerous road. It may sound like I'm out in left field. However, if you think about it, people that have a lot of self-respect are more easily deterred from making choices that will only cause pain and devastation. From things as simple as choosing to value yourself enough to dress modestly, not watch or listen to inappropriate forms of media, to saying no to a drink of alcohol, or doing things that are inappropriate outside the bonds of marriage. Unfortunately, Satan has it figured out. He knows that it's more difficult to immediately get us to make choices that have completely devastating consequences and that bring nothing but misery and pain. So, he starts with the small things. He tells you you're not as talented, smart, funny, skinny, good-looking, wealthy, etc., as others. Because of that, he tells you you aren't as valuable. Unfortunately, we live in a world where more often than not, those are the things that determine how we measure value. When we start believing the lies that we aren't valuable because we don't live up to worldly criteria of value, we lose self-respect. Maybe not an ample amount at first, but over time, the more we feed into those lies, the quicker that self-respect diminishes. This is when we do what we can to feel cared about, accepted, and valued. If you don't take a drink of alcohol, they will think you're not fun so you better do it. If you don't join in on the gossip about someone else, you won't fit in. If you dress immodestly, that will be the only way boys will even notice you. And the list of these lies that Satan tells, goes on, and on, and on. All of the choices we make in life, most likely stem from our self-confidence. So, in my opinion, Satan's greatest tool is to tempt us to compare ourselves to others. He wants us to be so consumed with what the world sees as valuable, that it makes us lose our focus on what really is valuable. Trying to find our value in what others think, how others treat us, tangible possessions, or looks, is only a path that leads to misery and pain. Unfortunately, the carefree time that childhood used to bring, is diminishing at a younger and younger age. Children are not only having to face evils that when I was a child, I didn't even know existed, but they are being influenced younger by the worldly standards that so many value. In turn, they are losing self-confidence so much younger. Elder Holland also said in the talk mentioned above,
"Satan is a real being set on destroying you, and you face his influence at a younger and younger age."
We (mostly talking to myself here), now more than ever, need not lose our focus on what really matters. On who we were sent here to become. Where our value really does lie. We need to consciously continue persevering in faith in our Heavenly Father. It is extremely difficult doing so in the world we now live in. There is so much evil. However, there is SO much good!! Let us not lose sight of the goodness, of who we are, and what our purpose on the earth is.
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