Jesus & Self Esteem

Some psychologists suggest low self esteem is a contributor to many of the social disorders facing younger generations today. Whether or not that’s completely true could be debated, but there is one thing to acknowledge – our image of self can alter how we perform.

It’s said that to be a good athlete you have to be a little arrogant. I'm not advocating an unhealthy pride in our performance on any level, but there is some truth to that. While self-image impacts a lot of people’s life choices, we can realize that Jesus came to give us a new perspective on our own life.

2 Corinthians 5:16-17, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

One person in particular in the congregation at Corinth was especially glad that his past wasn’t continuing to define his future – the man from 1 Corinthians 5. He had been involved in sexual immorality and had been rebuked and disciplined because of it (after prompting from Paul). But in 2 Corinthians 2:6-8, “The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.”

The love Paul encouraged the congregation to show to the man after a period of time would be the compelling reason to not go back to that old lifestyle. Therefore, it could probably never be adequately expressed the importance of each of those members of the body of Christ in Corinth. Who were they? We don’t know, but he knew. They each contributed to his new self-image; something that had been buried under a load of sin and guilt, shame, and reproach. But Paul had reminded them, after the instruction for them to reprimand the man, in 1 Corinthians 6:11, “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

2 Corinthians 1:4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”

Each of us have a special design in God’s kingdom to do. As Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-14, “acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”