In class this week, we explored "approval addiction" and how it can impact our lives.
Cain was the first victim in the Bible who we know suffered from approval addiction....and it led to murder.
We also discussed how "secret service" (hence the picture) can help combat approval addiction.
Do you struggle with approval addiction? Take the following quiz. If you answer "yes" to any one of these, you should outline a plan on how you will address this area. We didn't get to this activity in class on Sunday and it is right out of the Ortberg video guide.
APPROVAL ADDICTION QUIZ: Yes or No
- I am often hurt when other people express less than glowing opinions about me.
- I habitually compare myself to other people.
- I am competitive in most ordinary situations.
- I have a nagging sense that I'm not important enough or special enough.
- I envy someone else's success.
- I try to impress people.
- I'm afraid someone will find out how much I worry about receiving approval.
- My sense of self-esteem depends on whether someone notices how smart, attractive, or _____ I am.
- I find it difficult to love someone who expresses disapproval of me.
- The opinions of others really affect me.
- I measure my accomplishments against those of other people.
- My concern for what others think inevitably leads me to shade the truth.
- I resent the person whose approval I seek because too much of my well-being rests in his or her hands.
- I am consumed by impression management. Much of what I say is to control how other people think of me.
One step you can immediately take to fight approval addiction is to act on the note card you took from class on Sunday.
Do an act of kindness or service for the person on the card you choose from
the red box.....and don't tell anyone (that means no one!).
3 comments:
It was interesting to hear the comment in class today that this project actually led some to be praying for their assigned person over the past week.
The comment was made that beyond the anonymous act of love, the assigned person was the focus of ongoing prayer.
Isn't it interesting that when we take the focus off our own ego-stroking, that we enter into a state more sensitive to the needs of others.
Keep up your acts of secret service beyond this project and be on the look out for this trend.
JC
I have found it fun and adventurous to see how many people I can sneakily help. Sometimes I just ask God to place someone in my mind to minister to. One time a name from my past came into mind at 2am and I prayed for that person, then I sent a note to her mother and mentioned that I had felt God's leading to pray for her. Her Mom was in total shock and sent a letter back asking how I found out about her daughter. I still don't know anything about the daughter's situation, but something was going on. Yes, my note was not anonymous, but my heart was open and I felt God's leading to reach out to her. Who knows, through that small act of love, I may have made an eternal impact on a family from the past!
God is awesome!!!!
That is very cool.
And it is a good reminder that when we open ourselves up to God, He is able to work in ways we never imagined!
JC
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