Try Softer
What if we didn’t have to hit ourselves in the head with a big stick - or a shaming thought - to get ourselves to change? There might be a different way to go about it. In fact, what if we went about trying to motivate ourselves to change the way God does?
Take a minute and sit with this verse. It may not be the way you’ve heard it translated in the past, but it’s a perfectly good translation and helps us focus on what really brings about change:
God’s kindness is intended to lead you to change. - Romans 2:4
To give gentleness some real clarity, Brenna Rubio brought out this keen insight in the sermon yesterday. Sit with this, along with those words from Romans 2, and ask the Spirit what she’s saying to you now:
“Trying softer isn’t about knowing or doing the right thing; it’s about being gentle with ourselves in the face of pain that is keeping us stuck. Because no matter how hard we try, we can’t hate or shame ourselves into change. Only love can move us toward true growth. This is the love given to us by a gentle, kind, compassionate, good God—and the love we are invited to give ourselves too.” ― Aundi Kolber, Try Softer