Biblical Self-Esteem

Almost every day I pray for the children in my life. I have a bookmark that is entitled “Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Kids” and has a different virtue for each day of the month. Today’s virtue was that the kids would have Biblical self-esteem. Specifically, the suggested prayer said,

“Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.”

The bookmark also gives a Scripture verse for each virtue. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” There are other passages of Scripture that talk about us being made by God (and in His image). One of those is Psalm 139. I especially like verses 13-14: “For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to Thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well.” God also said, “. . . Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . . “ [Genesis 1:26]

With all that Scripture says about God making mankind, I would think we would have a proper perspective on our value and worth. Yet we don’t. I prayed for my kids this morning and for myself, that we would have the proper perspective, not thinking too highly of ourselves and not thinking too lowly. I’ve heard it said that we need to be “right-sized” according to God’s perspective of us. Some of us struggle with being self-critical and self-deprecating. That’s not having the proper perspective. God made us and, as the saying goes, God doesn’t make junk. Going back to Ephesians 2:10, we were made for a specific purpose for specific good works that God has planned out for us. We all have purpose and it is God-ordained. That means we have value and worth in this world and in the world to come. Thinking we are worthless or purposeless is going against God’s plan for our lives.

However, there are some of us who think more highly of ourselves than we should. These same verses should give that kind of thinking pause also, for we cannot claim we have done anything from our own power and might. It all comes from the God who created us. So, thinking we have accomplished much on our own strength, power, knowledge, or talents is going too far. God gives us all that we have, our personality, our intellect, our physical being, and our mental capacities. We are of great worth, but we did not get there on our own. A sense of true humility needs to go along with our sense of self-worth and self-esteem.

So as I prayed for my children today, I also prayed for myself. I can find myself out of balance, either thinking too highly of myself or too lowly of myself. Neither place allows for God to rule our lives and give us a healthy, Biblically based, self-esteem.