We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
We are all storytellers. The problem is, the stories we tell ourselves, aren’t always accurate ones.
A husband asks his wife, “Are we going out tonight?” Before she even replies, the wife’s brain begins to spin: “I knew it!” she thinks. “You don’t want to stay home with me! You’re bored with our marriage! And you wish I were blonde! Why don’t you admit you never loved me at all?”[1]
It’s funny, but what happened the last time you sent a sensitive text message to someone? Did you watch for their reply with a bit of anxiety? The text bubbles blinked as they began to write an answer to your message and then…nothing! Why didn’t they reply? Are they mad at you? Do they just not care because they’ve got someone a lot more important than you to text?
Like the wife, you begin telling yourself a story, right then and there. Researcher Brene Brown is credited with coming up with the phrase: “The story I’m telling myself is…” and using this little phrase with ourselves and others is a great way help us take control of our thoughts the way God tells us to in scripture. The Bible tells us to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV).
The next time anxious thoughts well up in a relationship, will you be brave enough to share, “The story I’m telling myself is…” out loud and to the other person? More than likely you will both get a good laugh, really communicate and feel a lot closer to one another.
Try it!
[1] Berke, Lauren Simkin. “Illustration.” Oprah.Com, https://www.oprah.com/omagazine/brene-brown-rising-strong-excerpt. Accessed 23 July 2024.
