The Christian and self-esteem???

I spent a considerable amount of time in my pagan days seeking self-esteem and I'm going to do some study on this. I'm just wondering out loud, what is the Christian's response to self-esteem and what is the basis for whatever your belief is?One of the things that's going on in my heart is digging up some of the old things I used to think I knew and asking the Holy Spirit to quicken me about what the Bible teaches regarding things I still believe.Any thoughts anyone?

Thanks Brother Greg,I think I understand what you're saying. So are you equating "Christ esteem" with "self-esteem"? I doubt that you are but I was wondering.I don't believe any such thing as having one foot in the world and the other one following Jesus. Jesus said that no man can have two masters, so I don't think it's possible, but we think it's possible and that's part of the deception I believe. Pastor James said a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways but riding the fence seems to be illusory.I was always taught that God wants us to have self-esteem but I find no scriptural basis for such as an assertion. In fact, Jesus tells us point blank to deny ourselves and pick up our cross and follow Him.I've given away my position but I'm interested in hearing what others believe and why. This is part of the fallow ground of my heart that the Holy Spirit is working on these days.Now I've gone off on a tangent. Sorry about that...:-D

Well, lately ive been learning a lot about confidence. So this is all I have to add...I am learning that our confidence is in God and God alone. Not in ourselves. This is an obvious truth in the bible, but now I have had to apply it to social situations. I have always been somewhat paralyzed by fear in new social situations. But God has really been hitting me hard about fear, and confidence. He is showing me that we can place no confidence in ourselves... i will mess up, i will say something stupid, i will leave a bad impression, i will drive people away. But, we can walk into any situation with total confidence in God that He is there with me, for me, and He will take care of it and guide me and my words. I am still learning though... that is about all I have got so far. I have a long way to go concerning fear.

Well you asked, so here's my take on it:What does the world mean by "self-esteem" but to esteem one's self. I see this as totally contradicting Christ' command to deny one's self. As Christians, we should be seeking to esteem Christ, not self. All my worth is in Him. The only thing worth esteeming in me is what has been wrought within me by Him--everything else must be nailed to the cross.I once read where Joel O'steen said that his ministry was, what he would describe as "faith based self-help." In my opinion, this is absolutely unbiblical. According to the Bible, there is no help for self. The only cure for self is to kill it. Here is the Apostle Paul's take on self-esteem:" I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).I once heard Winkie Pratney tell about how one day someone asked George Whitefield how was it with his soul, to which he replied, "why, I forgot that I even had one." Point being, the man was so dead to himself and alive to Christ, that he had forgot all about self."Oh Lord, please help me to get there!"

I once heard Winkie Pratney tell about how one day someone asked George Whitefield how was it with his soul, to which he replied, "why, I forgot that I even had one." Point being, the man was so dead to himself and alive to Christ, that he had forgot all about self.I love it!!'Self-esteem' is another of these psychological terms that we have introduced into our 'modern' Christianity. The only thing with a 'self' prefix enjoined upon Christians is 'self-denial'. Matt. 16:24 (KJVS) Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 'self-esteem' was at the heart of angelic 'original sin'. “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” (Ezek. 28:17, KJVS)The modern approach has been to try to bolster our own self-image to make it more comfortable to live with. There is an interesting juxtaposition of themes in “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.” (Is. 41:14-15, KJVS) Rather than trying to improve our 'worm' image we would do better to take heed to the 'Fear not'. It is no hardship being a 'worm' if we can hear God saying 'fear not... I will help thee.'But this 'worm' is no defeatest. It is not an encouragement to lie down and give up. Apparently, according to these verses, one of God's secret weapons is a 'worm... with teeth'! :-x

Great posts guys. Thank you.A worm with teeth I love that Ron.I bought a couple of books on "psychoheresy" which is the corruption of Christianity through psychology. We see it throughout the body of Christ, at least in the U.S.I want every hidden thing in my heart removed that's not of Christ. As the Lord leads, I'll share some of the quotes from the books I'm reading...

Another good book is by Jay Adams (founder of NANC -Nouthetic Counseling) called The Biblical View of Self Esteem, Self Love, Self ImageHis site is www.Nouthetic.org and you can find some great articles on NANC.orgHope this helps too :)"We don't need more self-esteem, we need more GOD esteem."In Him, Chanin

This is a great thread. Before I was saved I felt confident (self- esteem) in a few areas of my life but not the majority. After I was converted I was much more confident, not in myself, but that Christ was true, and His word was truth. That's my confidence. Anyone who proclaims His word has to have confidence, not in self, but that His word is Truth.

"For no flesh shall glory in His sight. And until you've understood the sanctifying work of God by the Holy Ghost taking you into union with Christ in death and burial and resurrection, you have to serve in what you have and all you have is that which is under the sentence of death: human personality, and human nature, and human strength, and human energy. And God will get no glory out of that!" - Paris Reidhead: Ten Shekels and a Shirt

Thanks again to everyone,I missed your posts Chanin. Thank you. Will pray about the books you posted.This verse came to mind after reading through the latest posts: Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Quote:"I am not trying to simplify this brother but I think Christian's have low self-esteem because we are living with one foot in the world and one in the church. Inside we are miserable and don't have confidence because we are not abiding in him and living in holiness. Oh for the boldness to know what we are living, living without comprimise. There is liberty in the Spirit but if we are living in the flesh some of the time that liberty will not seem like liberty." Amen to that brother.Low self-esteem was/is a real problem for me. When I am dead to self and walking in light (1 Jn 1:5) I find that most problems that are the result of Low S-E (need for approval, shame, fear of rejection...) are just not an issue anymore. I don't have to find healing for low S-E, I just need to pick up my cross and follow Him and the old man and his weaknesses are taken care of.Martin

1Sa 17:34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 1Sa 17:35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 1Sa 17:36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 1Sa 17:37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. ...........-------------------------------------------------God often gives us victories so that down the road when we face a giant of our lives we can look back and remember how God brought us through in the past. The lion and the bear were like that for David. Problems that are to big for us are not to big for God. With God, all things are possible. We are more than conquers through Jesus Christ.David's esteem was in the living God. He knew it was the Lord who had given him the victory over the lion and the bear and it would be the Lord who would give him the victory over the giant Goliath.Our warfare is not carnal but mighty through God. We are to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. As Jesus said, "You can do nothing without me." Christ is made strong in our weaknesses, not in our strenghths. It is the foolish things of this world that God uses to confound the wise. He is made strong in our weaknesses.O' Praise God. Whether it is the personal battle against the flesh in our lives or the battle that rages against us as we strive to obey the great commission, HE IS ABLE TO GIVE US THE VICTORY.In Christ,GaryE

brethren!whoa this is a most interesting thread indeed. Self-esteem and self-denial are completely at odds with eachother and we are called to self-denial. the Lord has been leading me through the acts of the Holy Spirit and the writings of bro Paul and this stands out, all the things that were done were as a result of a filling with the Holy Spirit and an emptying of self. They didn't build up self to serve God but were in submission to the Holy Spirit which to me is the ultimate self-denial, letting God take over completely.let us us be crucified that Christ my live in us and through us.AMEN

Whitfields comment mentioned earlier certainly touches on the seed of self-consciousness and awareness that has degenerated into the modern obsession with self-worth. We see people making poor moral choices because they are trying to find answers to the wrong questions. Occasionally there are some who practice self-loathing as a method of countering self-love. Yet I don't think biblical self-denial has anything to do with self-loathing...in fact self-loathing is downright selfish. We simply need to get over ourselves and, resting in Christ, be willing to live for others. The image of a treasured bottle of expensive perfume being poured out on the feet of Jesus sums up this "paradox" beautifully. Human beings are not worthless...if this were so then there would not be such controversy over tragedies like abortion and world hunger...yet the Christian who treasues life, delights in being "wasted" for love's sake.I think the best place to thwart the self-focused version of Christianity is in our children. When I look around, I honestly see too many Christian parents who believe it is their job to make their children happy. Once children embrace this purpose for living their moral compass has become defective. Just some thoughts,MC

Excellent thoughts MC. One of my pastors often says that self-condemnation is one of Satan's excuses for not repenting. I've already heard it referred to as "wounded pride" which is very accurate.One will never become holy through self-flagellation.Here's an old Keith Green song that I thought fit this thread. I don't recall ever hearing it but I thought it fit. This was my heart for most of my life, so I can readily identify with the lyrics. (If you weren't around for the Jesus movement, the lyrics may seem a little "mod.") ;-) It's entitled: "Keep All That Junk to Yourself:"Feeling good bout the way I am,How come you can’t just let me be.Oh, I’ve got no use for your master plan,No one’s running this life but me.Oh cause I, I have to stand on my own,No I can’t lean on nobody else.Cause I, I learned a long time ago,I’ve got to keep looking out for myself.And you can keep all that junk to yourself.You keep warning me about the way I’m going,But my future’s looking just fine.And I’ve got no use for your scary tales,I’m sure I’ve got long till I die.Cause my time, you know, it more important to me,Then to talk about angels and hell.Cause I, I’ve read the Bible before,And it keep it right there on the shelf.And you can keep all that junk to yourself.Yes, I’m feeling real good bout my life right now,And I’m sure that for you it’s all true.If it makes you happy, enjoy yourself,I’m so glad it’s working for you.But for me, you know, I’ve got to stand on my own,No, I can’t lean on nobody else.Cause I, I’ve learned a long time ago,Got to keep looking out for myself.And you can keep all that jive to yourself.And you can keep all that junk to yourself.And you can keep all that junk to yourself.