Although the title and frequent use of the term 'self-esteem' is somewhat misleading, for I think there is a difference between low self-esteem and godly humility, here's a snippet from an article by TGC which I think highlights what is often wrong with my own view of self and key Bible figures...
'None of us has a problem with low self-esteem. Scripture tells us we
were born with the opposite issue. We all think of ourselves as a little
more pretty, a little more talented, a little more worthy, and a little
more deserving of just about everything in this life. Far from having
naturally broken hearts, our hearts are naturally bloated with the
calories of self-consumption and filled with obscene levels of
self-obsession. We've been taught that there's nothing more valuable
than how much we value ourselves.'
For those who do struggle with low self-esteem and even depression, I appreciate that this doesn't sound exactly comforting. But isn't this often the emphasis of much counselling and what is thought to be psychologically wrong with people, namely that they do not value themselves enough? True, we need a realistic evaluation of ourselves. Humility is not disdain for self but actual appreciation, even love, of the self as God intended the individual to be. As Christians, our self is that which is being renewed to ressemble more the character of Christ, so yes, we can love that. The difficulty today, however, is that there is so much emphasis placed upon valuing ourselves that we can end up destroying whatever hope those with real problems of self-esteem have by telling them that the power to 'be' valuable and 'be' something rests wholly upon themselves.
'...God takes sometimes horrific, drastic measures to destroy our
self-esteem. We're not told much about the personal pain Moses and
Joseph experienced. We're not told of the sleepless nights spent in
isolation, gripped by emotional despondency while grasping hopelessly in
the dark, trying to fathom why God was doing this and whether he was
even there. In hindsight, we tend to view these figures as emboldened,
courageous, pillars of the faith, but it's foolishness to think that
their responses were any less weak and human than ours would be. But we
see a God that uses very human experiences to change the hearts of human
vessels. And it hurts.'
from TGC: The Beauty of Low Self-Esteem
I suppose the issue revolves around the differences between self-esteem, self-worth and our sinful nature.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, the bible makes clear that our general problem is we esteem ourselves too highly. That is, at least in part, a result of our own deceit which doesn't see sin as it really is. Effectively, our tendency is to say we are pretty good and our sin is not that bad thus we esteem ourselves too highly. Certainly, for those without illnesses such as depression (and even for some of those with such illnesses), this is true. It is an wrong view of sin ie it's not that bad which leads to faulty self-esteem.
I think issues of self-worth are different. We are right to hate the sin that is in us and to work against the sinful nature we have. However, low self-worth is to despise oneself (which is not Biblical nor Christ-like). It is not a hatred of our sinful nature, though it can incorporate that, but is a hatred of our very selves - even of our new nature in Christ.