Page 103 - Built For God Handbook (Annotated and Explained Edition) - The Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching - The New Evangelization - Pope John Paul II

37

We are faced with the challenge of letting go of our false self to live out of
our true selves. Our false self is the image we project out to the world, how
we want others to see us, while the true self is the person we are before
God.

Because of being born into an imperfect world in which we experience a
lack of love or even trauma, we begin to doubt the reality of God’s love for
us. That doubt leads us to lose hope and to despair. That despair, in turn,
leads us to lose our ability to love. We begin to close in on ourselves to
protect ourselves from further hurt and start to diminish in varied ways. That
is when the false self emerges along with a tendency to rely on our
resources and efforts, leading to a loss of harmony, disorder, and chaos.

When we are insecure, we begin to grasp at straws to save ourselves and
become vulnerable to those who may seem to offer quick fixes or solutions
or causes that pose as remedies but are false shepherds with their own
interests at heart. The real solution is to believe in the depth of God’s love
for us, learn to love ourselves, and accept ourselves as we are, precious
and honored in God’s sight simply because God loves us.

c
a Exodus 32:1-10; 1 Corinthians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8; Jeremiah 23:16.
b