Not gonna lie, blogging everyday has been getting a little more difficult lately. But I shall persevere!
So I am going to introduce a thought that a family friend brought up during conversation today. It went something like this:
I never thought about it like that before, but I believe she is on to something... I will give more thoughts to come.
My apologies if my blogs have not been as thought through as of late. Doing this as one of the last things at the end of the night or in between hanging out is obviously not the most effective method for writing.
In the meantime, enjoy this song:
2 comments:
If a person cannot find esteem (that is, find worth) in Christ, in what can he find esteem? Can a man find self-esteem outside of Christ? Can a human, without sinning, find worth outside of God?
For, if we cannot use our redemption through Christ's blood as something to give us self-esteem, through what can we have any self-esteem at all? If we can't use Christ's sacrifice as something that gives us worth, then we have nothing. Then, All we have left is to give ourselves a false self-esteem through worldly standards and measurements.
Suddenly, we aren't saying "I've been redeemed by Christ, I have value" we are saying "I can do such and such well, I have value" or "People think such and such of me, I have value."
The bible is clear about such thought. To "glory in the flesh" is sin. However, the bible also says "But, 'he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.'" (2 Corinthians 10:17) God allows us to glory in Him. The word, "glory" in that verse can also be translated as "boast." We can boast in God. We can say, "I am a good actor, through Jesus Christ" and "I am strong enough to bend bows of bronze through God" and not be sinning. We can have confidence in ourselves through and in Christ. We MUST have confidence in ourselves through and in Christ. If we do not, then Satan will use a false sense of worthlessness to cripple our walk. If we do not use God as our judge we will either hate ourselves because of our sin or we will use the things God has done to become prideful in an effort to find worth.
That being said, I believe I might understand where your friend is coming from when he says "We shouldn't have self-esteem because we are a redeemed people." I feel like he meant something along the lines of "We shouldn't be self-righteous because we are a redeemed people."
Which is absolutely true, we should never be self-righteous. We should never use our salvation as something through which we say "Look, I am better than you. I have more worth than you. I am more valuable to this world and to God because of my salvation."
We need to realize our worth to God and realize everyone else's worth to God at the same time.
But, to literally mean we should not find self-esteem through God's sacrifice for us is not good, and untrue.
I recommend reading the 1st chapter of I Corinthians and the 10th chapter of II Corinthians, they talk about "glorying in flesh" versus "glorying in the Lord" or letting our commendation come from the Lord and not ourselves.
Dear Anonymous,
Lots of great thoughts, thank you! I was starting to develop thoughts along the same line as you when you talked about how we should not boast in ourselves, but in the Lord. Also:
"...we should never be self-righteous. We should never use our salvation as something through which we say "Look, I am better than you. I have more worth than you. I am more valuable to this world and to God because of my salvation."
We need to realize our worth to God and realize everyone else's worth to God at the same time. "
The word "self" in "self-esteem" is what changes its meaning entirely. We are the dictators of our respect or our worth within self-esteem's definition.
However, if we were holding ourselves to God's standards, we have nothing of our own that is worth respecting! Our worth is shot by the sin in our lives and our inability to change on our own.
But, if we have confessed that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead, we have gained access to new life.
So, in Christ, is there such a thing as self-esteem? Is it not true that we live by grace and no longer by works? Therefore, how can any man claim he has any regard for himself if he knows what Christ has replaced inside and out of him?
We must continue to shed the flesh from our lives, renew our minds, and strengthen ourselves so that we will no longer be moved, even by the opinion of our own selves.
I have yet to attain it, but believe that these thoughts will trickle down into my heart and then my soul.
Thanks for writing!
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