Pro1728 Posted March 30, 2015 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 3 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 73 Content Per Day: 0.02 Reputation: 49 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/14/2015 Status: Offline Birthday: 03/01/1974 Share Posted March 30, 2015 I think the best--healthiest--sort of self-esteem would be having such a security in our identity in Christ that we could forget about ourselves and just focus on other people. Insecurity tends to focus our eyes inward. And you're right, Wingnut. Satan loves to whisper lies into our ears and make us squirm over mistakes that have already been forgiven. Don't let him win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
another_poster Posted March 30, 2015 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 4 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 336 Content Per Day: 0.09 Reputation: 129 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/14/2014 Status: Offline Share Posted March 30, 2015 Wondering if anyone has anything to say in response to my post #21. Â It is easy to sit back and say if you just follow scripture then you will not have a problem. How easy is it in ALL situations to follow scripture? There is a very good reason we were created to live in community. Just scripture is not enough to get us through. We can not replace God with scripture. Sure focusing on other people helps take our minds of our own problems. However you need to be able to get out of bed to do that. When one gets to the point where getting out of bed is too much effort and barely eats then it is not so simple. Of course it should also be noted that one can not just ignore ones problems by focusing on other people. That is not healthy. We still need to deal with problems but taking time to focus on serving others helps to give respite from your thoughts and helps restore a better balance to things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qnts2 Posted March 30, 2015 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 20 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 2,875 Content Per Day: 0.70 Reputation: 1,336 Days Won: 9 Joined: 03/13/2013 Status: Offline Share Posted March 30, 2015 Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.  Self esteem actually plays into the previous verse. Self esteem is a judgement of oneself, and an attitude toward the self. Those who have a realistic view of oneself and are comfortable with who they are, will treat themselves well, and can treat others well. A lowered self esteem, is unable to treat others well, as they do not believe they deserve good treatment. A prideful person is actually a person with poor self esteem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezra Posted March 30, 2015 Group: Royal Member Followers: 16 Topic Count: 134 Topics Per Day: 0.04 Content Count: 8,142 Content Per Day: 2.34 Reputation: 6,612 Days Won: 20 Joined: 11/02/2014 Status: Offline Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 It is interesting that people are approaching this from an angle of a persons sins being the only thing that can affect a persons self esteem. What about circumstances in life? What if you have been knocked to the ground and kicked over and over again to the point where you wonder why you should bother getting up again? You start to think that God doesn't love you anymore. At that point to be honest scripture really is meaningless to a person. Your point is well taken. I've been there, and I know what you are referring to. And this is where the church comes in, particularly those who are supposed to be shepherds of the flock. According to Ezekiel 34:4 (see verses 1-10), it is their solemn duty to "bind up that which was broken" and to be looking out for those brought down by their circumstances. This could make all the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fez Posted March 30, 2015 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 683 Topics Per Day: 0.12 Content Count: 11,128 Content Per Day: 1.99 Reputation: 1,352 Days Won: 54 Joined: 02/03/2009 Status: Offline Birthday: 12/07/1952 Share Posted March 30, 2015  It is interesting that people are approaching this from an angle of a persons sins being the only thing that can affect a persons self esteem. What about circumstances in life? What if you have been knocked to the ground and kicked over and over again to the point where you wonder why you should bother getting up again? You start to think that God doesn't love you anymore. At that point to be honest scripture really is meaningless to a person. Your point is well taken. I've been there, and I know what you are referring to. And this is where the church comes in, particularly those who are supposed to be shepherds of the flock. According to Ezekiel 34:4 (see verses 1-10), it is their solemn duty to "bind up that which was broken" and to be looking out for those brought down by their circumstances. This could make all the difference.  At that point to be honest scripture really is meaningless to a person.  Yep right at the point when it should mean everything.  Why do we do that I wonder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fez Posted March 30, 2015 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 683 Topics Per Day: 0.12 Content Count: 11,128 Content Per Day: 1.99 Reputation: 1,352 Days Won: 54 Joined: 02/03/2009 Status: Offline Birthday: 12/07/1952 Share Posted March 30, 2015 After i posted i read Georges latest devotion, which you can see in that forum, but in the spirit of the last few posts on this thread here it is.  Because it answers them eloquently...  Matthew 7:24-25 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. After spending three months on the road, with an incredible wife and two kids — it's great to be home! As you can imagine, living out of a suitcase with an 11-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son, it was quite a trip as we traveled and spoke through 37 States and drove over 34,000 miles! As we spoke in numerous places throughout the United States, we stressed the need for our spiritual foundation to be solidified, and of how important it is right now for believers to be grounded on the rock that doesn't move! We are entering ever so quickly into some of the most turbulent times in the history of the world, and sad to say, it seems much of the church is asleep in the light without a clue of what's ahead and how rapidly it is approaching. While we see these events moving toward us on the horizon, we need more than ever to guard against worry or fear. Rather, let's embrace our God, who has promised to protect His children in the very midst of storms! In my own personal life, I have often experienced God's faithfulness and protection most dramatically in the midst of great storms. Not only that, but when you think of it, how can a rainbow be formed without a cloud or a storm? Now is the time to dig deep, and be firmly planted on the Rock — so that when the approaching storms do come, we will weather them through, and be there to rejoice as we see the fulfillment of God's promises at the end of the storm!   The italics and bold are mine... The wise words are George's..  Amen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Teditis Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Self-esteem is a spectrum of various aspects and the term has become used to cover specific aspects to the exclusion of others... which would make things confusing. I think it's important to clarify which aspect(s) of the term you'r speaking to when putting forth opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fez Posted March 30, 2015 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 683 Topics Per Day: 0.12 Content Count: 11,128 Content Per Day: 1.99 Reputation: 1,352 Days Won: 54 Joined: 02/03/2009 Status: Offline Birthday: 12/07/1952 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Ok I will bite! Â Say you are a hard working conscientious employee, who is not appreciated, and you have a boss who continually runs you down, tells you you are useless, and that you can do much better no matter what you do. Â You come, eventually, to begin to believe him, and you start to wonder if he is right, and that you actually are useless. Â You are stuck in the job, cannot afford to move because jobs are hard to get, and this goes on for years. Â (or you are a wife/husband and your husband/wife is doing this to you). Â You eventually have no self esteem. Â How do you deal with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willa Posted March 30, 2015 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 68 Topic Count: 186 Topics Per Day: 0.04 Content Count: 14,257 Content Per Day: 3.32 Reputation: 16,675 Days Won: 30 Joined: 08/14/2012 Status: Offline Share Posted March 30, 2015 It is interesting that people are approaching this from an angle of a persons sins being the only thing that can affect a persons self esteem. What about circumstances in life? What if you have been knocked to the ground and kicked over and over again to the point where you wonder why you should bother getting up again? You start to think that God doesn't love you anymore. At that point to be honest scripture really is meaningless to a person. The battlefield of the mind. Circumstances of life and grief are very real. And they can dig a very dark hole with no light at the end. It is then, when we are so totally self involved in dealing with our loss and self pity, that satan tells us God does not love us. It is at that point that he tells us that nobody loves us and nobody cares. Certainly stress hormones can screw with our minds as well and make us more vulnerable. I can remember concluding, at such a time, that I know that God loves me because Jesus died for me. Bottom line. So shall we take a look at righteous Job? In all his suffering he did not accuse God. But he did start to question God, and for this God came down on him saying things like, where were you when I created the earth?. He did start to justify himself as well. A person's faith has to go deeper than intellectual knowledge. It must involve the indwelling Holy Spirit crying Daddy! in our hearts. Even those who endured abusive fathers can learn that their real Daddy in heaven is pure and caring, self sacrificing on our behalf, giving and providing. It is Christ in us, the hope of glory, that makes us worthy of heaven. And knowing all that He has done for us and is doing in us is what gives us worth. Only He is worth. I have no worth in myself. Yet God, knowing my wretched condition, through grace has given me faith. The way out of the pit is to determin that life goes on, and so must we. We must first recognize that satan is the father of lies, and that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He came to give us life and that more abundantly. So we must move forward. He created us for good works that we should walk therein. Eph 2. Those good works include reaching out to someone who is hurting worse than we are and offering them the comfort that we have received from God in our time of need. 2 Cor. 1. The purpose for our suffering is so that we can help others, having gained compassion. Faith is built over time. It comes through small steps and answered prayers. We gain a relationship of trust as based on God's Word, and through experience we grow in dependance on His loving, faithful character. The person who can't accept God's love for themselves, who believes that God loves the world and they are part of the world, but God couldn't possibly love them alone, will be caught up in the hell of constant envy. They are comparing themselves with others and always trying to show themselves a being better or even worse; they may constantly boast about their family or possessions in surperlatives. It is likely that they won't be able to receive the love of other Christians either. They will constantly feel rejected because they are trying to gain acceptance and love from people, and normally they have chosen certain people that they envy most to want these from. So they are consummed with self. Selfishness. But God came to set these people free as well. And they do need our prayers, because only God can set us free from ourselves. We must die daily to self. It involves pain till we no longer notice our own, but can see the pain of others in need. James 3:14 NKJV But if you have bitter envy and self-seaking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seaking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. Self esteem. Agree with God that in me lies no good thing. Only God is good. We have this treasure in earthen vessels. Esteem others as better than ourselves. Humility. But we must recognize how much God loves and treasures us before we can give up our worth and humble ourselves or die to self. Phil. 2:5-8 Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, Who, being in the form of God--made Himself of no reputatation, taking the form of a slave--he humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross. He washed feet. He served men. He died with thieves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Teditis Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Ok I will bite! Â Say you are a hard working conscientious employee, who is not appreciated, and you have a boss who continually runs you down, tells you you are useless, and that you can do much better no matter what you do. Â You come, eventually, to begin to believe him, and you start to wonder if he is right, and that you actually are useless. Â You are stuck in the job, cannot afford to move because jobs are hard to get, and this goes on for years. Â (or you are a wife/husband and your husband/wife is doing this to you). Â You eventually have no self esteem. Â How do you deal with that? Â Me personally? I would stand on what God has to say about me in His Word and ask the "boss" to explain his point of view... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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