Being Nice To You!

I recently had the blessing of hearing Gino Mayo speak at the CFN conference.  As a Hospice Chaplain for the last five years he has dealt with death and with suffering families many, many times.  From his experiences he has learned much about dealing with grief and negative emotions.  It was a wonderful workshop.  At the end, after he had been very transparent about his own life he said, "It took me over 50 years to learn to be nice to me!"  It was a powerful statement.  I had just  heard a man say, "I have practiced the golden rule to people around me but if I had treated others the way I have treated myself, I wouldn't have many friends."
This is true of most of us.  We all gravitate toward the negative, and especially regarding ourselves.  Far too many people are their own worst enemies and in being so they sabotage their productivity and joy in life.  In Christianity and especially in preaching we have seemed to put more emphasis on the cross than the resurrection. Now, don't misunderstand me, the Cross isn't being preached enough in this hour in my opinion.  Without the Cross there is no resurrection.  However, individuals tend toward self degradation even after true repentance and salvation occurs. Once we are born again we need to live and think of ourselves as truly new creations. Romans 6:11 tells us to "reckon" or think of ourselves as "alive" in Christ.  Most of us deal with our thought life and seek to discipline our minds to not be negative or judgmental toward others.  This week give some thought to controlling your thought life toward yourself.  In the words of Gino Mayo, "be nice to you!"