It sounds holy … it sounds righteous … it is commonly heard, and rarely questioned.
What is it? It’s a belief that has become a sacred cow.
These beliefs effectively paralyze the faith of Believers by weighing them down with worry, fear of judgment, self-righteous indignation, indecisiveness, and stroking the ego as being “right”.
This is not an all-inclusive list of reasons why sacred cow beliefs are a problem, but it covers the most common. The most common reason why we let these weighty beliefs hang around is that they give us the illusion of being right.
Heaven forbid if we should EVER question a religious belief that puts us in the right!
How to tell if you are the victim of a Sacred Cow Belief?
FIRST, YOU HAVE TO NOTICE
You can’t change something you do not acknowledge or notice. For instance, the first series of beliefs that I first noticed (what I call the holy trinity of sacred cow beliefs) were actually from the lips of another Believer. But I was quite familiar with her line of thinking and beliefs because it was something that was commonly said, by myself and everyone else in our church! This set of sacred cow beliefs had her (and me, many times) effectively paralyzed as to how to proceed towards a better future.
You can read about the “holy trinity of sacred cows” HERE.
What I noticed most of all, was how hopeless she felt. It was as though she were “hog-tied” and caged. She wanted out of where she was but was blocked on all sides by reasons why she couldn’t move forward. To justify her feeling this way, she blamed the devil for beating her up with negative events that repeated themselves in her life.
SECOND, LISTEN
Listen to the excuses that are given when a sacred cow belief is present. The excuses sound “holy” and sensible until they are dissected and questioned. When asked why she didn’t just take a ‘leap of faith”, she said that she was waiting on God. This belief is never really defined but sounds pious and humble.
As I questioned what “waiting” meant to her, she replied, “I don’t want to get ahead of God”. Something I too had said before … and now I heard it as ridiculous! A human … getting ahead of GOD when He’s already in our future?
When I started to laugh, she came out of her hopeless spell and asked me what I was laughing at. I told her what I had just noticed and she too started laughing at the silliness of such unfounded beliefs. She saw too, that she was blaming anyone other than herself for taking responsibility for her progress in life.
Not long after that conversation, she started making serious decisions regarding her life and relationships and moved from a place of weakness and false holiness to a woman who was fearless in making decisions for herself and praying for wisdom concerning those decisions.
THIRD, FEAR NOT
One of the most common symptoms of a sacred cow belief is that there is a paralyzing fear. It may be a sudden and intense fear, or it is subtle and numbing. Either way, there is a fear of being “wrong” and of the repercussions that come when one is not obedient to a law or rule. (No love or peace is present!)
Sacred Cow beliefs have nothing to do with a relationship with the Most High God. They have everything to do with laws, rules, arrogance, blame, and judgments, and ego. Sacred cows are heavy and prevent you from entering into a closer relationship with your Heavenly Father.
If you notice with the “holy trinity of sacred cows mentioned above, the individual who is speaking of these beliefs is, in fact, not even in the equation!
“The devil is beating them up,” or they are “waiting on God,” or they “don’t want to get ahead of God”. None of these positions have to do with a sense of responsibility, passion, or authority.
They have everything to do with being afraid of condemnation or judgment and offer up excuses and blame as to why ineffectiveness is present.
What to do with those Heavy Sacred Cows?
WHEN YOU NOTICE
- What you just said or heard didn’t ring true, ask yourself what part wasn’t true.
- Was it the intention behind the saying? (humility, control, ego?)
- Was it confusion over how a certain word is defined? (rebuke, for instance)
- Did you suddenly feel burdened or fearful?
START LISTENING
- Recognize when you are “listening” with your agenda to reply with an answer or insight.
- Be CURIOUS and ask clarifying questions. One of my favorite questions is,
- “Why do you need to believe that?”
- “Is that true?”
- “How can you know this is true?”
- “Where does scripture say that?”
- “Who feels stronger right now? The enemy or God?”
STOP FEAR IN ITS TRACKS
- If you pay attention, there are more fearful messages than faith-filled ones. Ask yourself:
- Who is giving the message?
- Why are they giving the message?
- Just because a “Christian” organization or person puts out a message, video, Instagram, or whatever, do you feel empowered by that message, or fearful? Burdened or set free?
REMEMBER!
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)