THE LAW OF SELF ESTEEM
Matthew 4:1-4
Self-esteem is your overall opinion of yourself, and your beliefs about your work, abilities and limitations. Self-esteem is shaped by your thoughts, relationships, and experiences, including those related to culture, religion, and social status. Many beliefs you hold about yourself today reflect messages you have received from others over time.
The one with the best view of who you are is God, your Creator. The Bible says He created you in His image and likeness. Genesis 1:26-27. Hence, God’s opinion about you is what matters most. The most important personality after God in your Life is you. Everything starts and ends with you. First and foremost, you must know who you are. The devil challenged Jesus: if you are the son of God…. You don’t need an affirmation from anybody about who you are. All you need is be sure of and be secured in your identity. Even God in almost all cases won’t (can’t) do anything with you without your permission. If you’re willing then He’s ready to take your hand. What you think of your self is most often than not very accurate. The way you view yourself can hardly be defeated. Looking down on yourself isn’t humility, rather its self sabotage.
It is natural to feel better about yourself some days more than others, but you want to keep your overall self-esteem healthy. There are three ranges of self-esteem. People with overly high self-esteem are often arrogant and self-indulgent and express feelings of entitlement. They tend to overlook their own flaws and criticize others. Those with low self-esteem value the opinion of others above their own. It is sometimes difficult for them to accept compliments focusing on their perceived weakness rather than their assets. They are afraid of failure and believe everyone else is better than they are.
God gave you his DNA, so it isn’t pride if you rightly believe you can do anything and everything through that DNA. IF you think you can, you are correct and if you think otherwise, no one has the ability to change it too. People with healthy self-esteem have an accurate and balanced view of themselves. They recognize and accept their abilities and their flaws, their strengths and weakness; they hold realistic expectations for themselves and others. This is what everyone should aim for. It creates and engenders positive relationships with others. It breeds confidence which enables top performance at school or work.
Taking it further, healthy self-esteem frees one from the need to conform in order to be accepted by others. Job told his friends “What you know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you” Job 13:2. You must develop healthy self-esteem to be successful in life.
MEDITATION: I have the DNA of God in me. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. If God says I can, I can and I will.
