Lower Self-Esteem
For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2
Except – Our world is addicted to the cult of self-esteem. Have a problem with relationships? You have low self-esteem? Can’t hold a job? Low self-esteem? Not succeeding in life. Not your fault – you were raised with low self-esteem. The modern answer to life’s backhanded slaps is a psychological boost of self-esteem. If we just thought more highly of ourselves, we could overcome those debilitating behaviors. Right?
Paul will have none of this psycho-babble. Human beings do not have a personal esteem problem. They have a sin problem. From the biblical perspective, men naturally avoid the truth about their real status. Any esteem that I have is alien esteem. It doesn’t come from me. It can’t, because the truth is that I am terminally ill with sin cancer. My heart is deceitful. My behaviors are rebellious. I am at war with God, my Creator. No amount of self-esteem is going to fix my real problem. In fact, it will probably make things worse. Self-esteem is a Christian oxymoron.
Paul had plenty of reason to enjoy a healthy self-esteem, but he came face-to face with the harsh reality of his true status when Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. After that, Paul tells us that he made a deliberate choice to know nothing except (in Greek ei me) Jesus crucified. That became the core of his life – and for good reason. The answer to Paul’s issues with self-esteem could only be found outside of his ego. Paul knew what he really deserved, and it wasn’t a pat on the back. He deserved even lower esteem than he once thought. Whatever esteem landed on him had to come from someone else,
Imagine what would happen in your world if you fully embraced the “except” solution to ego enhancement. The basis of your worth has nothing to do with you. You are accepted because of Jesus’ esteem, and He is esteemed by the Father because of His faithfulness and obedience. In other words, whatever esteem you have is transferred from Him. You didn’t earn it. You don’t have a right to it. You weren’t born with it. It was given to you as a gift. No ego enhancement can ever improve on it, take credit for it or leverage it. The truth is that you and I, on our own, are without esteem. We stand before the Creator defiled, by choice and circumstance. It’s a problem we cannot fix. This doesn’t’ preach very well in a culture that wants to earn self-esteem, but the Bible is not really interested in what is palatable. In fact, until you realize that you have nothing to offer, you really don’t need God’s gift.
Self-esteem just doesn’t fit in the biblical world view. All that I am depends on Jesus, not me. Once I really absorb that thought, I will stop grasping for ego improvements and start offering thanksgiving. Quite frankly, it’s a big relief. All that self-esteem nonsense only makes me feel worse.
