Self-esteem. It has almost become a buzz word for our culture. We are to teach our children to have good self-esteem. Bad self-esteem is blamed for a myriad of problems ranging from bad behavior to serious psychological disorders.
While I agree that we are very special to God, created in His image, and loved unconditionally by Him, I also think we have sometimes “messed up” on our ideas of self-esteem. Too many times I find myself too focused on myself, whether it is to think positively or negatively about myself, I find myself too self-absorbed. I find the same pattern in my children. They think very often about themselves. In fact, most of the children I’ve been around seem to be thinking an awful lot about themselves and how things will affect them and how they can get the best things for themselves. We are a very self-centered people.
But, if we follow the model of Christ, we do not see a focus on “self-esteem.”
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross! Phil.2
Christ did not consider His own self-esteem at all. Instead He, Who was God, made Himself nothing. He became a man. And not only did He become a man, He chose to submit Himself to a very humiliating death on a Roman cross! He became a servant, so that I might become the child of the King.
Thank you, Lord, that You humbled Yourself for me. Help me to be more focused on You and on serving others than on myself.