Spiritual Growth - IIA

Spiritual Growth – II
Spiritual Growth And Self-Esteem – Part One

In our previous lesson we saw that "Spiritual Growth Is A Choice" commanded by God - 2 Pe 3:18. Requiring diligent effort on our part - Ph 2:12. Assisted by God - Ph 2:13. Blessed by God - 2 Pe 1:8-11. Yet many Christians do not reach their potential for spiritual growth. Character development is minimal, abilities likewise underdeveloped. Years pass by with little progress. I am persuaded a major reason is poor self-esteem causing Christians to underestimate their true potential thus hindering their efforts to grow. What is self-esteem? How does it affect our spiritual growth?

Let's begin by taking a look at self-esteem and the Christian. Self-esteem is our internal feelings and evaluation of ourselves based on our "perceived" self-image. In other words, how we feel about ourselves based on how we view ourselves. Self-esteem and self-image are closely related, based mostly on feedback during childhood. Feedback may come first from others (parents, peers, other important figures), but then is reinforced by our own self-talk (what we tell ourselves). Healthy self-esteem is enhanced by childhood experiences that include: being praised, being listened to, and being spoken to respectfully; getting attention and hugs; experiencing success in sports or school and having trustworthy friends. Childhood experiences that lead to low self-esteem include: being harshly criticized, yelled at, or beaten; being ignored, ridiculed or teased; being expected to be "perfect" all the time; experiencing failures in sports or school. -- People with low self-esteem were often given messages that failed experiences (losing a game, getting a poor grade, etc.) were failures of their whole self. The consequences of poor self-esteem can create anxiety, stress, loneliness and increased likelihood for depression. It can cause problems with friendships and relationships. It can seriously impair academic and job performance. It can lead to underachievement and increased vulnerability to drug and alcohol abuse where one with low self-esteem attempts to self-medicate their negative feelings about themselves. -- These negative consequences themselves reinforce the negative self-image and can take a person into a downward spiral of lower and lower self-esteem and increasingly nonproductive or even actively self-destructive behavior.

The Christian’s basis for a high self-esteem has two primary reasons for having a healthy self-image. First, dignity, by virtue of divine generation. We were created in God's image - Gen 1:26-27 “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” We were created to exercise dominion - Gen 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."’ -- God has further demonstrated His high estimation of mankind by His love - Jn 3:16 ‘"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”; 1 Jn 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”; Ro 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” These facts must be planted deep within the heart and soul of one that is suffering from low self-esteem or self-image.

Second, dignity by virtue of spiritual regeneration. Yes, we are sinners, but we have been regenerated - Ti 3:5 “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” We are now loved as His children - 1 Jn 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” Christians have other reasons for having a good self-esteem. The blessing of continued forgiveness when we sin - 1 Jn 1:9-2:2 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” The blessing of God's Spirit to help us overcome sin - Ga 4:6 “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"’; Ro 8:12 “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.”; Ep 3:16 “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,” The blessing of God's family (the church) to help us - He 3:12 “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.”; 10:25 “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” The blessing of God's own assurance never to forsake us - He 13:5-6 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"’ There is much that could be added to the fact that God highly esteems His children. While we are sinners, He wants us to have the proper estimation of ourselves.

In the next portion of this lesson we will address more directly the subject of self-esteem as to how it negatively affects spiritual growth of a Christian.