Day 9: Self-esteem

Day 9: Self-Esteem/Self-Worth

- confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self respect.

-synonyms- self-respect, pride, dignity, self-regard, faith in oneself; morale, self-confidence, confidence, self-assurance.

-Antonyms- self-deprecation

-self deprecation- belittling or devaluing oneself, excessive modesty.

Self esteem and self worth go hand-in-hand. I think this is very important to address this topic especially for us in our twenties. Self-esteem issues are another thing that, if we have them, can start at a very young age. For me, it started at the age of five and did not get better until recently and honestly it is still something that I struggle with. For me it was being bullied for so long, being called ugly everyday by my peers. It was implanted in me at a very young age, and I started to believe it. Due to this I felt worthless, I felt as if I wasn't good enough or I was always going to be the "ugly black girl" who couldn't speak up or stand up for herself. Honestly my self-esteem did not start to grown until I met Christ, at 16, and started to understand what I am worth, and that I need to be confident in the body God gave me, as well as start to believe in the person He made me to be.
-Dyamond

Psalm 139:14

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.1

gWonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well

Matthew 6:26

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

We are made in the image of God. Made in His beautiful glowing image. I like to think of God as an artist and we are His greatest creation. The earth was like a blank canvas before creation and He came and made it beautiful. He created something beautiful. And then, He made us, after all the beauty He had just created He created something even more beautiful, man. And He said it was good.

As young Christians we are bombarded with commands that involve humility and modesty. At first sight of self-worth or increase on confidence we are told not to be arrogant or conceited, we are told to "humble yourself" we are told to be and dress modest. This can take a toll on our self-worth because we try so hard to meet these “Christian standards” set by our elders. We try not to dress a certain way because that’s what it means to be modest, if you’ve ever heard the saying “modest is hottest” you know what I am speaking about. We take compliments lightly because we don’t want to be seen at less than humble. This gives us a warped view of humility, we foil compliments and downplay ourselves in the name of humility.  We start to believe that our worth is based on what we look like as a Christian, and how others view us. None of these things should determine our self-worth. Our confidence comes from Christ and the fact that He loves us so much.  I mean He gave His only son for us, we must be worth something. Jesus laid down His life for us while we were still in sin. That’s how much we mean to Him.

That’s where our self-worth should originate, we find our identities in Christ, therefore we should find our worth and confidence in Him as well.. Christ views us as worthy, He sees the beauty in us. He doesn’t tear us down because of our flaws, He loves us through them. If God, who created us, doesn’t choose to point out, everything wrong with us, why do we do it to ourselves? Why do we tear ourselves down so much? We must learn to see ourselves through the eyes of God. There is nothing wrong with loving yourself and seeing beauty in yourself, and having self worth. When we start to view ourselves the way God views us and understand just how much we mean to Him our confidence will skyrocket. There is a difference between being conceited and confident. Just because we are confident does not mean we lack humility. It’s all about what we feed ourselves, what we speak over our lives. The tongue is a very powerful weapon, and if we constantly view ourselves as less, or speak to ourselves as if we don’t matter, or that we are ugly, or worthless. We will start to believe it. When we are truly practicing Godly confidence it’s not just about how we view ourselves.

We, as humans, tend to project our image of ourselves onto others. When we see how beautifully and wonderfully made we are, we will start to see it in others. But it starts at home. We must learn to love ourselves.

Reflection

1. How do you view yourself?
2. Write down all the things you love about yourself. Look in the mirror and remember you are made in God’s image. What does that mean to you?
3. Speak highly of yourself today, and every other day. Accept, a compliment, give a compliment.

Prayer time

Allow your answer to the above question guide your prayer. Talk to God about your self worth, and how He sees you.

Share this with someone you know, especially those who need to hear it. and be sure to comeback tomorrow  for more. Thank you!