Toure Roberts - Conversations with Self

We are talking about conversations with oneself, and last week we discussed in detail conversations with God. If you weren’t here, you need to catch up. I truly believe that the most important conversation you need to recognize and improve the quality of is your conversation with God. Your life, as we talked about last week, is literally a conversation with God. He is always speaking, and oftentimes He speaks through circumstances, but He is always communicating. We discussed the seven questions that anyone looking to enhance the quality of their conversation with God must ask, and while there were many, one question stands out. One worth reiterating is: «Shall I go up?» This question embodies the art of surrendering to God’s direction for your life and avoiding the anxiety, eagerness, or desperation that leads you to move without Him, especially in this unprecedented season. We are in a way that has never been experienced before. This is a unique age, stage, and era in the history of the world; none of us have been here before. I know there’s nothing new under the sun and that history repeats itself, but even if it does, you were not there when it happened, and the way it unfolds this time is different. So, it is imperative, and I want to emphasize this, even though it was last week’s message. I highlight this because I want to reinforce the command for you to refrain from moving quickly without the Lord’s confirmation. Even if it seems good, take a moment and ask, «God, is this it, or shall I look for another?» I sincerely urge you to do this because there is a rhythm and pace to this year. You don’t start off running if you don’t know where you’re going; instead, you need to pace yourself, pray, and seek guidance. When God brings clarity—He will bring clarity—and says, «This is the way; walk in it,» then you can run. Are you with me? So, the most important conversation any of us should focus on improving is our conversation with God. I discussed this last week. However, the next most crucial conversation we ought to enhance and grow in understanding is our conversation with ourselves. Our conversation with ourselves is everything. Many of you may not realize this, or perhaps you don’t think about it because it occurs so naturally and effortlessly. We are almost always in conversation with ourselves. We might call it thinking—or something similar—but we are continuously engaging with our thoughts. Right now, you’re conversing with yourself; you’re processing what’s being said, and some of you might be questioning, «Is that really for me? Can I really…?» So, you and I converse with ourselves. This suggests that each of us has a relationship with ourselves. Did you know that? Did you know you have a relationship with you? Oh, I’m going to teach today! The honest truth is that most people do not have a good relationship with themselves. Have you ever chastised yourself, hit your forehead, and asked, «What were you thinking?» I know I have. Then I start calling myself several names sometimes. We are in a relationship with ourselves, and as I mentioned, sometimes it is not a good one. In fact, watch this: without some form of intervention, it usually isn’t a healthy relationship with ourselves. This is why Jesus, when asked about the greatest commandment, responded that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. He also said to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. So Jesus was essentially saying that the greatest commandment is to love God, but the next one is to love ourselves. You might think, «Wait a minute, aren’t I supposed to love my neighbor?» No, He said love your neighbor as you love yourself. The way you love yourself is meant to be the benchmark for how you love others. Jesus understood that we needed to be in a better relationship with ourselves. How are you doing with yourself? I know how you and your partner are doing, but how are you and you? What’s your relationship like? This is something we seldom contemplate, because doesn’t it seem unusual to think that maybe there’s more than one of you? Isn’t it slightly odd to think about having a relationship with oneself, as if there’s more than just one of you? In fact, if we take a look at verse 11 in the text, and this is something I had never really noticed before, it jumped out at me. In verse 11, it says: «For what man knows the things,» and as I mentioned before, «things» is not in…