City Life Starter

Written by PJ Thomas

The Word

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Romans 12:3

Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good, above all that we are better than someone else, I think we may be  sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but  by the devil. The real test of being in the presence of God, is that you either forget about yourself all together, or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself all together.

C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity Book 3, Ch 8

Exegesis

Self-esteem, in a nutshell, refers to one’s sense of their own value or worth. However, there is a trap when we define our own worth in our own terms.   Our self-assessments leave us vulnerable to definitions of worth that can change or be taken away. For example, we may base our self -esteem on how many friends we have, or our wealth, our good looks, or our talent.  However, all of these aspects can be taken away, and there may always be someone who has more than us. Self-esteem based on external values will always be fragile, because it depends on our comparison to others.

In Romans 8-12, Paul is speaking to a church body that was beginning to define their worth based on being non-Jewish believers of Christ versus Jewish believers of Christ. This led to them thinking they were better than Jewish followers of Christ. Paul denounced this ethnic division by encouraging them to be mindful that their stations and gifts were given to them to serve others, not to puff themselves up. Their value is equal. It is based on what God has done and the value he has given them, not their self-defined value, because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”(Romans 3:23).

Similarly, CS Lewis warns that when we manage self-esteem by pride and comparison, even if it’s pride based on religion, we miss the mark. We also miss a deeper, more authentic connection with God.

Application/Prayer

Take a moment to examine yourself and your faith. Do you praise God for the qualities that he gives you because you believe those gifts make you better than others? What part of you glories in Him, the gift-giver? Pray to God that he allows you to identify these parts, and ask Christ to allow the former to decrease so that the latter increases.