Party Time?

Just before I sat down to write this I was at a party. It wasn’t very good, to tell you the truth. And there weren’t many people at it. Actually, come to think of it, I was the only one there. You might have gone to this kind of party before. You’ve probably sent out a few rsvps to a “Self Pity” party. Tonight mine was about a friend not calling, and then it went to “everyone seems to have something to do tonight”, to “it’s terrible being single”, and “Ill never get married” and on and on it went.

This kind of thinking, of course, only leads to feelings of defeat, resentment, and bitterness. It is also contrary to what God expects from us.

Jeremiah’s Party of One

When I struggle with anything, I turn to the Bible for direction. So as my party wound down I grabbed my Bible and did a search on self pity. What I found was the prophet Jeremiah having a party of his own.

May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,
who made him very glad, saying,
“A child is born to you—a son!”
May that man be like the towns
the LORD overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailing in the morning,
a battle cry at noon.
For he did not kill me in the womb,
her womb enlarged forever.
Why did I ever come out of the womb
to see trouble and sorrow
and to end my days in shame? Jeremiah 20:14-18

Wow! I don’t think I am that bad! But nonetheless here we read of Jeremiah deep in self-wallowing. The circumstances in Jeremiah’s life had led him to wish he had never been born. I must admit I felt a little better reading of a prophet chosen by God, feeling sorry for himself. Yet that does not make self-pity okay.

Its All About Perspective

At the root of self pity is the belief that we deserve better then what we have. Yet the truth is that if we take an honest look at ourselves we must admit that we are not deserving of all the blessings that come from God. So how can we then feel sorry for ourselves when God has given us so much? A friend of mine once stated that if God never blessed him with anything again in his life, he would still be eternally grateful because of God’s gift of salvation. Can I say the same thing? I want to be able to say yes but some days Im just not there.

In Lamentations we find Jeremiah with a completely different attitude. Instead of focusing on himself, the prophet has looked upward:

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:21-24

This is the antidote to feeling sorry for myself! I look at God and see all he has delivered me from. I place my hope in knowing that with each day comes a fresh dose of compassion from God. Whatever might be causing you to pity yourself today, take it to the Lord. Ask Him to forgive you and then wait for him, for He is your portion.

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