Video: Why we self-protect

God gave us the ability to guard our hearts— not so we would hide them forever, but so that we could deal with pain and protect ourselves from harm in healthy ways (see Proverbs 4:23). Of course, we’re not supposed to protect ourselves from everything; we’re supposed to protect ourselves from the wrong things while revealing ourselves to the right things. 

The problem is that it’s easy to get confused as to what’s safe and what’s not. When the “safe” things (like family, friends, church) suddenly become unsafe, we tend to self protect from everything.

Enter the tough exterior, a massive full-body mask we wear.

But, and this is important…

That false self(the outer layer of self-protection) is incapable of giving or receiving love, as it’s just a mirage. Like a shadow, it's just an image thrown from a real person onto the world around them:

•  Shadows can’t connect.
•  Shadows can’t love. 
•  Shadows can't heal. 

Often, the outer self develops an “Ace” card, something we can lean into that makes us lovable. It might be the way we dress, the hobbies we espouse, or the affinity groups with whom we identify. 

Again, the false self can’t receive love, nor can it give it. It can’t walk in life and wholeness because, well, it’s fake. And that means it can’t carry the weight of your calling, either, because shadows can’t carry anything.