Think about it. Do you think Adam and Eve needed self esteem? No! In fact, they only began to worry about their self-esteem after they sinned. This tells me that the focus on self and worry about self worth is a product of the fall. It is a result of sin. So if Adam and Eve didn't have self esteem before they sinned, what did they have? They had, what I like to call, God esteem. They found their worth in God and who they were in Him. Their thoughts and lives revolved around God and His glory, not around their own thoughts and their own glory.
What this means for us is that we need to think less about what we do, less about who we are, and less about our status in society. We need to think more about who God is, more about what Christ has done, and more about our identity in Christ. This means when we get down we don't need to convince ourself of our worth, rather we need to remember that no matter what, our lives our hid with Christ (Col 3:3). Nothing can separate us from God's love (Rom 8:38-39). And that our identity does not change in Him. When we begin to do this, no longer will our identity change based on circumstance, rather it will be changeless, regardless of how you feel. Just the thought of this brings hope to the downcast, hope to the anxious, and hope to the sinner who is flooded with guilt.
- Self Esteem focuses on how you feel about what you have done. God esteem focuses on who you are because of what Christ has done for you.
- Self Esteem focuses on your changing identity in culture. God esteem focuses on your changeless identity in Christ.
- Self Esteem is about how I feel about myself, leading 2 obsessing over self. God esteem is about how I feel about God, leading 2 worship.