There is a general observation that I have made over the years. It is very common for people to talk down on others, on themselves, or the system in which they are involved.

So much abnormality has been normalised to the point that people tend to get comfortable with abnormal and get uncomfortable with normal.
Some people are very comfortable in bringing themselves down as a way of blending with society.  You hear people say things like “oh, am so rubbish.” ” I am no good.”

In the corporate setting, some people are quick to negate the ideas of colleagues and belittle things that they are not directly involved with, just to feel superior and others never have anything positive to say about people in leadership or any form of authority.
These are NOT normal and shouldn’t be accepted as such!

I am no medical expert, but I know and have seen that negativity is a killer. Negativity is like poison, which eats up anything in its path until everything is left for dead, and when you tear something or someone down, that is exactly what you are doing.

Having a difference in opinion or raising your objections to something is absolutely normal,  this is not where my reference lies but always nipping at someone, no matter what they do or don’t do is very unhealthy.

I looked up the phrase ‘tearing down’, and this is what it says :

Demolish: To destroy something completely by breaking it or knocking it down.

Tearing down may not originate from a place of hate or spite. In fact, for some, especially in the area of tearing one’s self down , it could come from a place of insecurity,  a place of wanting to belong. You feel like putting yourself down would win you sympathy from others and you do it but what you don’t realise is that your brain and your mind begin to accept over time what you say about yourself to yourself and to others and if you keep giving conflicting messages,  you end up more uncertain and unstable.

Another factor leading to tearing down is hurt. The instinctive response of someone who has been hurt is to hurt back except for a supernatural intervention. So when you are angry at someone for something they did or didn’t do, remember to examine yourself and ask, will the action from your anger build that person up, improve the situation or will it contribute to tearing them down.

You have a choice to allow yourself to receive someone else’s garbage of hurt and anger or to protect yourself by walking away.

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. [20] Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.”
James 1: 19-20 NLT

In wrapping up today’s blog, I will ask a question.  When you put down the leadership of your organisation,  your community,  your church, or your country,  to what end is that? Do you speak from a heart that is genuinely concerned and wants change, or do you criticise for the sake of it?

The verse above says that human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. In other words, if your anger or disappointment does not lead to something Godly, then you make yourself a part of the problem and not a solution.

Make a decision today to become a builder rather than a destroyer. Build yourself up by reflection on who God says you are, refrain from tearing yourself down, and refrain from tearing others down.

Every blessing

Kingdom.