John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” – John 3:30
Paul said, “I am the chief of sinners.” -First Timothy 1:15
Here is a question for you: “Do you think they suffered or struggled with a lack of self-worth?”
I believe if you asked them, they would not understand what you were asking. This type of language came into our Christian vocabulary during the latter decades of the last century. From a Christian historical perspective, our self-worth was not a common consideration or a normal part of a Christian’s understanding and application of sanctification.
Any Christian who argues for a prominent place for self-worth in our understanding and practice of sanctification is making a mountain our of a molehill because the Bible does not speak to this issue in the way they are arguing. Their primary argumentation comes from the influence of psychology books that were written in the 20th century.
What About Made in the Image of God?
The closest you can come to self-worth in the bible is from the argument of being made in the image of God. All humans are made in the image of God. God created man in Genesis 2:7. We are warned in James 3:9 that we shouldn’t be angry with one another because we are made in the likeness of God. This is true, but I think it is intellectually dishonest to put the primary point of emphasis of these texts on the person. That certainly was not the intent of the authors.
Being made in the image of God would be of no value if God was not valuable. A painting finds its value in the artist who painted it. If the artist is famous, then the painting is valuable. The point of emphasis is primarily on the painter not the painting.
When you walk into a museum to adore a painting you could say,
“I saw Self Portrait, Open-Mouthed.” or ”I saw a Rembrandt.”
The first is a painting, circa 1629. The second is the painter who painted it. The latter makes the former valuable. While I would never dismiss the value of a person’s worth-Genesis and James would forbid this-I find it a bit wrongheaded to carve out a psychological worldview based on this notion. The problem is that the point of emphasis can subtly drift from the artist who made the image to the image itself.
The worse-case scenario is the temptation to worship and serve the creature more than the Creator. (See Romans 1:21-25) In fifteen years of counseling people who are insecure, I have never found a person mature out of their insecure thought patterns without taking John’s advice:
He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30
If you are shy, insecure, or co-dependent, or struggle with peer-pressure (the biblical term for all of these issues is fear of man), then let me exhort you to think less often about yourself, to not worry about whether or not you have value and to make much of God.
If God increases in your thoughts you will, unwittingly, understand your value. The painting feels good about itself when the painter walks in the room. Love, adore, and worship the Painter: you’ll be okay.
Related Articles
- Loving Me: The Hidden Agenda of Self-Esteem, 1.0
- To Lower Your Self-Esteem is Good, 2.0
- Self-Esteem & the Tale of Ugly Betty, 3.0
- The End of the Road for High Self-Esteem is Suicide, 4.0
- Case Study: Sally’s Search for Self-Esteem, 5.0
- Did J. B. & Paul Struggle with Self-Worth, 6.0
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