By Brieana Ofosu
When I'm recording my weekly radio show, I usually peruse the social media airwaves and timelines for the things people are talking about, the things they may be divided on, as well as the things that just need some JESUS. My sites of choice are typically fashion forward, millennial friendly, etc. I was scrolling through Instagram the other day, and I found a post on one of my sites of choice (one that sometimes I'm almost ashamed to say), and I saw a post that had me pleasantly surprised. TheShadeRoom, the place you love to hate, for its constant celeb post and infinite shade, posted a thought provoking question that forced me into a few minutes of self-awareness. It was so much so that here I am, writing to you about it, and eventually asking you to think about as well: what is a toxic trait that you possess and would like to work on getting rid? Whoa. First of all, I felt personally attacked. They asked assuming that I would even have any *insert fake disgust*! This question spoke to me in a number of ways and there were waves of emotions and feelings that swept over me as I thought about an answer. The fact of the matter is, we all have some things that aren't so great about us. We all have traits that have caused an argument. Things about us that people rightfully don't like. Parts of ourselves that, if we're honest, can stand to hit the trash. It was difficult for me to say out loud, but once I got real with myself, I could name a few. Moment of transparency: I have a spending problem. I mean a forgo-my-car-note kind of problem. It's something I've realized over the years, especially as I've grown my blogging and fashion brand. There were times where I would even make justifications and excuses about why spending money on the latest shoes were necessary. "My followers need these looks." "I have a 10 day grace period." "How can I grow my brand if I don't invest?" We've gotten very used to justifying our nonsense in this day and age. The world tells us that we are a work in progress, and arms us with resources to halfway fix ourselves for their monetary gain. We have become so very good at justifying our bad behavior, even our sinful behavior. In reality, we can justify just about anything in our lives to help relieve the pressure of the Holy Spirit bringing things to light for us to deal with them before Him in humility and self-sacrifice. The problem with this behavior is, we never quite get around to the issue because we've adopted this really nice pair of rose-colored glasses (or shoes) that are blocking us from seeing our wrongdoing, and eventually getting down to the good things we can be. By not acknowledging that there's a problem...it's almost like it isn't happening? I'll share a secret with you: God loves imperfect people. That's right I said it. He loves all of your binge-spending, binge-eating, eye-rolling, nay-saying, negative speaking ways. We all make mistakes. We will unfortunately (and fortunately depending on how you see it) continue to do so. But because Jesus died and rose from the grave, every mistake we will make or ever make has been paid in full. Don't allow ego and pride to keep you from receiving God's love any longer. Don't allow blinders to keep you from acknowledging your sin and moving forward with God to receive His love and mercy. I task you today to think about something you could do differently. I then task you to consistently pray and ask God to remove that from every part of yourself. Then, I want you to forgive yourself and do better. Who knows what's on the other side of your awareness? Salvation? Success? Sounds like a win to me.
About Brieana:
Brieana is the host of the Faith & Fashion360 FunkNation Radio that airs Sundays from 7pm-9pm. Connect with her on Instagram.