THE CONSEQUENCES OF BUILDING SELF-ESTEEM AND OF VALUING OURSELVES

On New-Ager wrote:

·       The soul is the source of true self worth which quickly and easily takes away our sins because we no longer have to identify with our sinful personality as we know our true identity is spotlessness, infinite and eternal…you cannot get self worth from traditional Christianity.

I responded:

“You are right that we need to feel that we have value or self-worth, but is value something that we can claim for ourselves or is value a product of a relationship, of someone else who values you? It is like a coin claiming that “I have value.” However, if there is no one to value that coin, what kind of value can it have!

Similarly, deriving value from our own self-assessment is like taking an algebra test and arbitrarily deciding, “I will give myself an ‘A!’” However, here too, the grade or the value is determined by the relationship between our answers and the correct answers. Yes, we do have the freedom to decide our grade is an “A,” but this is dysfunctional and narcissistic. It fails to deal with the real issue of value and to assess ourselves accurately. It is a refusal to receive corrective feedback and to make the appropriate adjustments.

You claim that we cannot derive self-worth or value from “traditional Christianity.” Instead, you claim that your hope is in your soul, which “is spotlessness, infinite and eternal.” However, there is no evidence of such a thing, certainly not in the Bible. Instead, this is what the Lord says about unredeemed humanity:

·       The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

·       …as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12)

Therefore, what our Lord wants is not self-congratulations regarding the purity of our souls, but a humble acknowledgment of our need for His forgiveness and cleansing.

This is the same thing that your wife and neighbor want from you – not a boasting about your self-worth and moral purity, but a humble acknowledgment of the wrong you have done, and we all have done wrong. It is this acknowledgment that brings healing and reconciliation. Meanwhile, your boasting is alienating you from our One and Only Source of hope – the fact that Jesus has died for our sins. Instead, your boasting is the rejection of His gift of life and true worth:

·       For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23)”