damaged goods

“I’m damaged goods.”

Recently I had the joy of sitting down at Starbucks with three of my former students.  Each of them has been through difficult journeys on their road to embracing their identity in Christ.  Through this process they have become three of my favorite young women. 

Wanting to make the most of our time together, I got right to it.  “How are your hearts?” I asked them.  Two of the three were quick to respond, “Great!”  Each explained that though it has been a difficult road to getting healthy, they feel encouraged by what they see God doing in their lives.  One of the ladies shared that counseling is helping her to understand and address some past hurts and lies that continue to impact her.  This is a painful process, yet necessary and fruitful.  Another described how her deepening connection to Christ is opening doors for healthy relationships with men.  It is a little nerve racking, but also exciting as she seeks to honor God in a dating context.

When I turned to the third young lady I noticed that she had tears in her eyes.  “How ‘bout you?  How is your heart these days?”  The weight of that question crested over her like a thirty-foot wave on the North Shore of Oahu.  Catching her breath she said, “It’s good.”  Then taking a beat to think about it she replied, “I feel like I’m damaged goods.”  Ouch.  Hearing her say that was like getting a round house Mike Tyson to the solar plexus.

There are few things more destructive than self-identifying with our mistakes.  When our self worth becomes mired in the muck of our sin, everything begins to unravel.  What an amazing win this is for Satan.  Believing this lie is to hand Satan the keys to the kingdom of our souls.  The cure to this epidemic of negative self-worth is an injection of Truth from scripture.

Jeremiah 31:3 I have loved you . . . with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

“Damaged goods.“  After taking a moment to collect myself I looked around at the ladies and asked, “What word do they call someone who is a daughter of a king?”  Blank stares.  Slowly they began leaning into the realization of what I was saying.  “A princess?” “That’s right.” I said.  “Once you have put your life and faith in Jesus’ hands He declares you to be sons and daughters of the most high God.”  Galatians 3:26 tells us that we, “are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  If God is the King, and we are his children, that makes us princes and princesses.  Now go and live accordingly.  We are not damaged goods.  The King has declared us holy and righteous.  As adopted sons and daughters we need to live in the reality of our royal heritage.  That means taking captive those thoughts that degrade our self image and distract us from the eternal reality of our identities in Christ.