Self-Esteem Talk

"Fear Not, Therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:31) (ESV)
 

Good Day Oddballers,

Yesterday I had some conversations with many people who think very negatively about themselves, and today. I want to tackle the issue on self-esteem because it seems like I honestly have to "get real" with these people.

What I can tell you is this:  God made you perfect in his eyes. End of story. As much as society tries to manipulate that truth into something distorted and unrealistic with standards higher than even Goliath could reach, you as a person have to know the truth. It's hard to see, trust me, I Know for a fact it is. But eventually you will be able to recognize the postive qualities in yourself.

Trust me, I can relate. I was depressed for a time, I understand what it's like to feel like no one really cares about you at all. I understand the feeling of negative self-worth because you feel below the standard of quality and acceptance. I understand the feeling of wanting to be something I wasn't. I understand the feeling of trying to live up to unrealistic expectations and failing miserably. I understand these emotions because I was just like you. I understand those feelings that one could be having in regards to self-esteeem.

Self-Esteem is a complicated thing. It's not like I can get up in the morning and say "I like everything about myself." Well, because we live in a broken world where a lot of things aren't pleasent and beautiful and kind. We will have negative qualities and struggles because that's just part of living on Earth. So don't fret if you look in the mirror and don't like something. That happens to me too. It's all part of living in a world of sin.However, IT'S NOT EVERYTHING!

As a Christian, I know that through God I can look past my negative emotions about myself and find my strenths. For me, when I look in the mirror, I look past the negative things and find the things that I specifically like about myself: my eyes, and my nose, and my healthy frame. Using that, I can then find the postive qualities in my personality. I used to have to rely on people to tell me the good things about myself. But I know what positive qualities I have now, so I just try to ulilize them as often as possible in front of people.

What's difficult for me still is accepting the compliments from others. People will tell me how nice of a person I am, how pretty I am, How awesome of a friend I am, and How much they appreciate me in their life, but I tend to think about how others don't get told those things on a daily basis, so they should be told those things, OR there is always someone better who deserves it more than I do.

Maybe it's modesty, maybe it's self-esteem that's the problem. I don't really know. But nomatter what, I try to talk to God about it. He usually knows what to say to me through others when I need it most. So I rely on him to help me get through the rough spots.

So as you all go about your day, and you notice yourself thinking negatively about yourself. Tell your little peanut gallery to STOP IT!! There is no reason anyone should feel badly about themselves. Ever!!


Have a great Day everyone. Maybe that helped Maybe it didn't.


Oddball