Have you ever found yourself not liking who God created you to be?
I used to ask God, why'd he make me so sensitive? Why did I always have to cry and be hurt by people's words or actions? To me, having emotions and being able to feel felt like a curse.
I wanted so bad to be cold hearted or at least not to be called or seen as sensitive. The word had such negative connotations that it became an insult to me. Every time I heard it, I would cringe inside.
It took me a very long time to learn that there's absolutely nothing wrong with being sensitive. Or as I prefer to call it tenderhearted.
Our emotions and our ability to feel were given to us by the Lord, and we should never be ashamed of it.
It helps us emphasize. It helps us love. It helps us understand people most people don't.
I feel bad for some of our brothers who grew up with toxic masculinity. Being told silly things like "boys don't cry" must've been hard and confusing.
I once asked my husband what he thought about the word sensitive and tenderhearted. He said the word sensitive was undercutting and as a guy being sensitive was seen as a bad thing. He also stated that growing up the word was associated with weakness. He too prefers the word tenderhearted, when he hears it, he thinks of a caring, loving, and emotionally inclined person.
However, I have a question. What if we didn't use the word tenderhearted, and we stuck with the word sensitive and all its worldly meanings?
Who said it was a bad thing to be seen as weak? In 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV, Paul states, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."
I believe if you rob a person of their identity you rob them of everything, and that's exactly what the enemy has done by putting such a negative undertone on what should be seen as a beautiful trait.
Nothing is wrong with being sensitive, or weak, or tenderhearted.
They're all conditions of the heart, and we should never shame, dismiss, or mock each other for it.
To my brothers and sisters who too may have grown up with negative views of the word. I'm sorry. May God change your heart and mind. May he help you to accept yourself and your emotions. May he give you the strength to admit when you're hurt and cry when you're sad. If you are misunderstood and different, may He protect you from the ones who make like your different is bad. May you walk in His strength and own your sensitivity. In Jesus name, Amen.