A Christian Oxymoron: Ever Feel Inferior? - Living Free - January 20
A Christian Oxymoron: Ever Feel Inferior?
Living Free Every Day®
A ministry of LivingFree.org
Scripture
Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Matthew 22:37-39 NLT
Thoughts for the Day
An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined. For the Christian, low self-esteem (inferiority) is an oxymoron. Why? As Christians, we are called and privileged to lead a God-centered life rather than a self-centered life.
The Bible encourages us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought.
Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Romans 12:3 NLT
The Bible also commands us to look out not only for our own interests but also for the interests of others.
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Philippians 2:3-4 NLT
But . . . nowhere in the Bible are we told to put ourselves down. In fact, just the opposite. Today's scripture makes it clear that Jesus expects us to love ourselves. "Love your neighbor as yourself" (emphasis added).
Consider this …
Although we are to love ourselves and the way God made us, many of us struggle with feelings of inferiority. Bob Moorehead in the "Inferiority" chapter of Counsel Yourself & Others from the Bible lists seven common causes of inferiority feelings (pp. 192-194):
- Less than ideal physical stature and appearance
- Academic limitations
- Vocational and economic factors
- Negative comparisons made by one's parents
- Poor health
- Criticism of others
- Satanic oppression
Do you struggle with any of these feelings? This week we will discuss how to begin seeing ourselves as God does. To have the kind of self-esteem author Don Matzat describes as "Christ-esteem."
Prayer
Father, your Word tells me I should have good self-esteem based on who I am in Christ. Help me see myself as you do and overcome these feelings of inferiority. In Jesus' name . . .
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