SELF-ESTEEM

 AI Overview says: 

The concept of self-esteem is generally credited to Scottish philosopher David Hume in the 18th century, who first discussed the importance of valuing and thinking well of oneself as a motivator for reaching one's full potential; however, psychologist William James is considered to have formally established self-esteem as a distinct psychological construct in his work "The Principles of Psychology" where he defined it as a measure of our success compared to our aspirations, laying the groundwork for further exploration in the field. 

“Self-esteem” is a measure of hell well we have accomplished things that are important to us. 

“Christ-esteem” is a measure of how well we have lived up to the aspirations of Jesus.

 

Christ-esteem is based on the metrics of God; how well we value Him whereas Self-esteem is how we measure up to view of ourselves. 

Where can self-esteem be found in the Bible? Nowhere! So some stretched to find it!

 

Wonderfully made:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13-14)

 However, David preceded that by these words: 

God) laid his hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. (Psalm 13:14) 

God did it; David knew he had not! We have not made the good in ourselves; God did that (John 1:31; “very good” we were made.)

 

Confidence: 

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. (Heb 10:35-36) 

Paul was speaking to those who in former days, “after you were illuminated” should be confident. “Illumination” is born again; then and only then should they have confidence. Confidence in the self? Or Confidence in God? 

Indeed, even Christianity is even what is in it for me? “You will receive what is promised.” 

Seeking God is a means of self-preservation. Admit it now; you value yourselves so highly, you want to exist forever! Your existence is based on self-esteem! 

God knows that: “No man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it” (Ephes 5:29) 

Every person values themselves, and that is why we even seek eternal life. 

The “Golden Rule” is to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". It is a given; you value yourselves.  That is the “iniquity” in which you were born (Psalm 51:5) 

Iniquity is over-valuing yourselves, or being overfly confident in yourselves. “Iniquity” is too much self-esteem. 

(Suicide will be a later topic.)

Insufficiency: 

…such trust have we through Christ toward God: not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God (2 Cor 3:4-5) 

Our self-perception must be realistic. Christians are sufficient only by the grace of God. We are insignificant if not for Him!

 

The Nature of the Righteous: 

We were made in the “Image” of God and “very good” — literally perfect; without flaw of defect; like God Himself. Mankind was created glorious — “weighty,” or of high intrinsic value. That was the original man, Adam and was meant to be for his kind once they multiply. 

God created our kind as a “hard copy” of Himself whose “Image” was a “shadow” or “phantom.” 

Genetically, Adam was the Son of God, or of His genetics. 

Imagine God with all His attributes. Your imagination should think of Jesus with Him glorified. 

…all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose for whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son... (Rom 8;28-29)

 

The Glorious Nature of Christ: 

Jesus came eating and drinking like us; He left glorified like the first Adam.  He was no longer like man but purely like God because the “Phantom” of God was in every nuclear cell of His glorified body (John 7:39) 

Jesus was transfigured or changed. His body went from like ours to like the Image of God that was in Adam.

He made us in the bodily image of Christ; not the Christ who ate or drank, but the one who sustained Himself with the Virtue of God; the One who could walk through walls, transmigrate at will, and overcome the world without either eating or drinking.

 

The Inglorious Nature of Man: 

Original, or genetic sin, changed the glorious nature of man to inglorious. 

The Book of Genesis is not of evolution but devolution. 

Original sin changed the nature of man. 

The herbs in the Garden were not “herbs.” Mankind was not made vegetarians. 

The Hebrew word means “shiny:” perhaps a type of photosynthesis or even manna from heaven that was like “hoar frost on the ground” (Adam by the way) that just dissipated without ever decaying. 

Then Adam and the woman ate. They would then require digestive tracts (Book of Adam and Eve). Not only that; they acquired sexual knowledge and appendages with original sin. (They were made like angels who did not couple). Now they coupled. A hint is that, “They were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Gen 3:7). 

Before, they were like God; now they were like God. The woman had gone from the dominant position to the submissive as she was beguiled; or received the genetics of the Wicked One (1 John 3:12). 

Women are now just like pigs with lipstick. Men are like boars with tusks. We are as beasts and so many spend more time on all fours than upright. 

Mankind was made upright: “anthropos” in the Greek — beings that stand upright and without tails to balance them, and who had upright morals. 

Now we are as much swine as the pigs, doing things even dirty swine will not do. Mankind, with sin, went from upright to decadent. We are mostly depraved. 

That should counter any esteem that you might have had. That should humble you, but that is the truth; mankind has degenerated into almost total depravity, but with just enough that we are worth saving. God values His defective little images so much that He made a plan for us and a future, according to Jeremiah. 

For God so loved the world (us), that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever (any of us) believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) 

Regeneration: 

God values us, but there is a condition: We “must be born again” (John 3:7) with a new nature:

God resists the proud but gives grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded. (Jas 4:6-8) 

That “grace” is “weightiness.” He glorifies those who have humbled themselves by submitting the human flesh to God for different incorruptible (gloried, upright, sinless, non-animal-like flesh). 

Humble yourselves and the Beastly nature will withdraw, leaving behind a pure nature, a new creation! (2 Cor 5:17).

 

The Beastly nature within you will die and a new creature born again as in the beginning. Gid above will engender you in the manner of Adam.