Text: Romans 12:1-5<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. The concern for a person’s self-esteem continues to permeate the thoughts of our society.<\/p>\n A. It is not unusual for a concept to be argued for or against based on its supposed\nimpact on a person’s self-esteem.\n 1. Spanking, giving grades, or even keeping score during a game is\nconsidered bad for the self-esteem of those who did not achieve well.\n 2. I once received a memo asking teachers not to use red ink when grading\nbecause red had negative connotations and might damage a person’s self-esteem.\n 3. James Dobson, in Dare to Discipline<\/i>, said, “Self-esteem is the most fragile\nattribute in human nature; it can be damaged by a very minor incident and\nits reconstruction is often difficult to engineer.”\n B. A good self-esteem, we are told, is a requirement for success in school, work, and\nmarriages. Lack of self-esteem is the source of a person’s failures in life.\n 1. James Dobson, “The matter of personal worth is not only the concern of\nthose who lack it. In a real sense, the health of an entire society depends on\nthe ease with which its individual members can gain personal acceptance.\nThus, whenever the keys to self-esteem are seemingly out of reach for a\nlarge percentage of the people, as in twentieth-century America, then wide\nspread `mental illness,’ neuroticism, hatred, alcoholism, drug abuse,\nviolence, and social disorder will certainly occur … Personal worth is not\nsomething human beings are free to take or leave. We must have it, and\nwhen it is unattainable, everybody suffers.”\n C. Since the Bible contains everything pertaining to life (II Peter 1:3), we ought to be\nable to find teachings relative to a positive self-esteem.\n
D. What are we looking for?<\/p>\n 1. Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary: “1) A confidence and satisfaction in\noneself: self-respect 2) self-conceit”\n
2. American Heritage Dictionary: “Pride in oneself; self-respect”<\/p>\n 3. Roget’s Thesaurus: “A sense of one’s own dignity or worth; pride, honor,\nego, assertiveness, self-confidence, dignity, self-respect”\n
II. People with a Positive Self-Esteem<\/p>\n
A. The king of Assyria – Isaiah 10:8-11<\/p>\n 1. In today’s psychological mumbo-jumbo, we would say that the king has\nachieved “self-actualization.”\n
a. He felt very positive about his ability to accomplish his goals.<\/p>\n b. He had been successful and fully believed that he would continue to\nhave success.\n 2. He wasn’t afraid of challenges because he was sure of his ability – Isaiah\n10:13-14\n 3. Imagine if he lived today! People would praise his leadership, confidence,\nand success – or would they?\n a. Are these not the words of an arrogant bully and a dictator with no\nrestraint?\n
b. God condemned his attitude – Isaiah 10:12<\/p>\n c. He did not have a proper view of his position in the world – Isaiah\n10:15\n
(1) He wasn’t a supreme conqueror<\/p>\n
(2) He was only a tool in the hand of God<\/p>\n
B. The king of Babylon – Isaiah 14:13-14<\/p>\n
1. It would be hard to be more “positive” than this man – Daniel 4:30<\/p>\n 2. He certainly wouldn’t have difficulties performing well at social functions\nbecause of his low view of himself.\n
3. But God said his next social appointment was with death – Isaiah 14:9-11<\/p>\n
C. The king of Tyre – Ezekiel 28:2-5<\/p>\n 1. Certainly his people didn’t have an indecisive leader because he thought\ntoo poorly of himself.\n 2. Perhaps if he was living today he would be holding expensive seminars\ninstructing people on how to achieve the same level of self-awareness.\n
3. He might even be the founder of his own religion!<\/p>\n
4. But despite his lofty view of himself, he was brought low – Ezekiel 28:7-10<\/p>\n
D. The women of Israel<\/p>\n 1. Dr. James Dobson, though he writes interesting material, claims women of\nAmerica are afflicted because of their poor self-image. It is impacting their\nability to be wives and mothers. In What Wives Wish Their Husbands\nKnew About Women, <\/i>he said, “If I could write a prescription for the\nwomen of the world, I would provide each one of them with a healthy dose\nof self-esteem and personal worth (taken three times a day until the\nsymptoms disappear). I have no doubt that this is their greatest need.”\n
2. Well women in Israel didn’t have that problem – Isaiah 3:16<\/p>\n
3. It is just that the Lord did not share their opinion – Isaiah 3:24<\/p>\n
E. A man of Israel – Luke 18:11-12<\/p>\n 1. There was no danger of this man’s marriage failing because he had a low\nsense of self-worth.\n
2. Too bad he didn’t justify himself to God – Luke 18:14<\/p>\n
III. What did it gain them?<\/p>\n A. All these people, and there are more in the Bible, were self-confident, self-actualized, and had great self-esteem. But they didn’t gain any lasting benefit from\nthis attitude.\n
B. God opposes the proud – James 4:6-10<\/p>\n
C. But what is the message that we are given?<\/p>\n
1. “Be proud to be an American”<\/p>\n 2. Teachers and parents boost children’s egos by telling them how proud they\nshould be of their accomplishments\n
3. People are told to be proud of their heritage<\/p>\n
4. Salesmen are told to be proud of their product<\/p>\n
D. What is the message God gives? – Habakkuk 2:4<\/p>\n
IV. Avoiding Pride<\/p>\n A. Paul foresaw the perilous times when people would be lovers of self – II Timothy\n3:1-5\n
1. Notice that he warns that it is only a form of godliness<\/p>\n
2. It looks good on the surface, but it isn’t<\/p>\n
B. Low self esteem – Philippians 2:3<\/p>\n
C. Pride causes discord – Proverbs 13:10; 28:25; I Timothy 6:3-4<\/p>\n
1. What I want rarely matches what you want<\/p>\n
2. But pride says my way is better<\/p>\n
V. The Bible doesn’t teach people to develop a positive self-image<\/p>\n A. Instead, the Bible assumes everyone already has such an attitude – Matthew 22:39;\nEphesians 5:28\n
1. Concern about ourselves is a part of our make up as human beings<\/p>\n
B. Poor self-esteem is not the cause of the world’s woes<\/p>\n
1. Drug abuse doesn’t come from poor self-esteem<\/p>\n
a. The abuser isn’t doing it because he hates himself<\/p>\n b. He is seeking pleasure for himself or trying to escape from his\nproblems\n c. It is all about him. He doesn’t consider the impact he is making on\nother peoples’ lives.\n
2. Depression isn’t due to poor self-esteem<\/p>\n
a. It is an attitude that<\/p>\n
(1) We should have known better<\/p>\n
(2) We don’t deserve what is happening to us<\/p>\n
(3) Events are out of our control<\/p>\n
b. The focus of the person’s thoughts is on himself: “Woe is me!”<\/p>\n
C. We are not told to cut ourselves down, deny our abilities, any such thing – Romans 12:3 <\/p>\n
D. We are told to forget about ourselves<\/p>\n
1. We are free from consuming thoughts about self<\/p>\n
E. Instead we seek the glory of another – the Lord God – I Corinthians 5:14-15<\/p>\n
F. It is no longer “I” who lives – Galatians 2:20<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: Romans 12:1-5 I. The concern for a person’s self-esteem continues to permeate the thoughts of our society. A. It is not unusual for a concept to be argued for or against based on its supposed impact on a person’s self-esteem. 1. Spanking, giving grades, or even keeping score during a game is considered bad for the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[126,724],"class_list":["post-13951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-pride","tag-self-esteem"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61029,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-has-low-self-esteem\/","url_meta":{"origin":13951,"position":0},"title":"Who Has Low Self-Esteem?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"From\u00a0Meditate on These Things, November 2009: Particularly enjoyed the article\u00a0self-esteem, as blaming \"low self-esteem\" for all of the behavioral problems of children seems to have been a special problem for many in my profession, but especially therapists who come out of the very liberal schools of \"social work.\" I had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19916,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/self-esteem-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":13951,"position":1},"title":"Self-Esteem (Sharp)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Keith Sharp via\u00a0Tri-County Church of Christ. Perhaps the one goal American parents and educators agree on for children more than any other is \"high self-esteem.\" John Rosemond, a professional family psychologist who writes a nationally syndicated column that appears in the Watertown Times, wrote an article entitled \"Self-Esteem Isn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/self-esteem.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13940,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/self-esteem\/","url_meta":{"origin":13951,"position":2},"title":"Self-Esteem (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Let me tell you about a man I know \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He tells me that while he is not incapable, he is the most insignificant person in the group he associates with. Sometimes, he is ashamed to be connected with his friends because of the awful things that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13956,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-nine-year-old-son-doesnt-want-to-sleep-in-his-own-bedroom\/","url_meta":{"origin":13951,"position":3},"title":"My nine-year-old son doesn’t want to sleep in his own bedroom","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My nine-year-old son doesn't want to sleep in his own bedroom. Is this good for his self-esteem? Answer: Self-esteem is just a nicer way to discuss pride (see Self-Esteem for more information). A Christian parent should not be concerned with developing or maintaining a child's pride. The question should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Parenting"","block_context":{"text":"Parenting","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13946,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thinking-highly-of-self\/","url_meta":{"origin":13951,"position":4},"title":"Thinking Highly of Self","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 12:3-16 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Several years ago, Whitney Houston, came on the music scene with a song that became her signature song, \u201cThe Greatest Love of All.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs. A lonely place to be. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And so I learned to depend\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11868,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-pride\/","url_meta":{"origin":13951,"position":5},"title":"What is pride?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was just wondering what pride really means. Checking the dictionary gave me too many definitions. I was wondering why it would be a sin. I mean, of course, you should love God with all your heart, but can't you also have some self-esteem or self-confidence? Answer: Pride is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}