Everyone
has feelings of inferiority, condemnation, and hopelessness from time to time.
Many people cannot fully enjoy life because they feel inferior and guilty.
This burden causes depression, discouragement, and fear. Christians should
not feel inferior or condemned because God redeemed them from sin and its
effects by the sacrifice of His precious Son, Jesus
Causes
of low self-esteem?
1.
Accusations of Satan
Satan constantly accuses God’s people. Even the name Satan means
“accuser” in the Hebrew language. When Satan accuses us, we feel a general condemnation
that leads to hopelessness, since there is nothing we can do about it. This is different
than the conviction of sin that comes by the Holy Spirit, which targets
specifics in and leads us to repentance.
Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the
salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his
Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God
day and night, has been hurled down.”
2.
Harsh words & Past failure
Many
people look down on themselves because of something said to them in
the past. Perhaps their parents, relatives, classmates, friends, or
teachers said something that made a lasting impression. Our past experiences of
failure may make us feel inferior. If we sinned terribly, that sin may haunt
us. Whenever we have an opportunity to succeed or be happy, we may remember our
past and feel that we are unworthy or doomed to fail.
3.
Wrong perspective of God
Some
people come from a home where there is little praise for success, but lots of punishment
for failure. If we come from these types of environments, it is easy to have a wrong
perception of God. We may see Him as a cruel master who demands perfection and
is ready to punish us when we fall short of His standard.
Overcoming low
self-esteem
1.
Resist Satan’s lies
Ever
since the Garden of Eden, Satan has used lies to destroy people and drive them
further away from God. Satan will accuse us and do everything he can to steal
our joy and make us feel defeated. But we need to remember what
Jesus said about Satan in John 8:44.
You
belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's
desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for
there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he
is a liar and the father of lies. We need to recognize the lies and accusations
of Satan. Whenever we feel condemned in a general sense and as though there is
nothing we can do, that is the accusation of Satan.
2.
Reassure yourself of God’s promises
When
Jesus died on the cross, He paid for all our sins. We do not need to pay
for our own sins because His sacrifice was once for all. We simply need to
repent and believe.
Romans 8:1-2 Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through
Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and
death.
3.
See yourself as valuable in the church
God
has prepared a role for each one of us to play in His church. We are like
parts of the body that function together in different ways.
Romans 12:3-8 Now
the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say,
"Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would
not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should
say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would
not for that reason cease to be part of the body. But God has combined the
members of the body and has
given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division
in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If
one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored,
every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one
of you is a part of it.
4. See
yourself as valuable to God
Apart from
our usefulness in the church, God loves us simply for who we are. “There is nothing we can do to make God love
us more, and nothing we can do to make God love us less.” God loves us as a
Father. We are His special, unique creation, whose purpose is to live in close
fellowship with Him.
5. Accept
your shortcomings
We need to
realize that only Jesus was sinless. We all fall from time to time, but by
God’s grace we can get up again. Paul realized that his weaknesses were
actually opportunities for God to show His power. We should accept that we
cannot overcome our weaknesses on our own, but instead wait on the Lord
for His strength.
2 Corinthians 12:9 Therefore I
will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s
power may rest on me.
6. Respond
to correction positively
Invariably,
someone will say something to us that could make us feel guilty
or condemned. Maybe they are warning us out of love, or exaggerating our
sin out of spite. Whatever the reason, we need to respond in the right way. We
should imitate Jesus, who forgave those who condemned Him to death on the
cross.
7. Leave the past behind
Christians do
not need to be burdened with their past sins once they have repented and made
restitution. God has removed your sins from us and does not remember them any
more.
Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the
west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
No comments:
Post a Comment