The Lie of Self-Esteem

When we are tempted, Christ is faithful, and He will be there for us. We have been told a lie that we all too often believe. In our modern society, we are told that we can do anything if we put our mind to it. We have been told that we are winners, and if we aren't winners, we just need to try harder, or to have more self-esteem.

What's the lie here? That we can anything through our own strength and effort, even overcome our own sin. What's the problem here? We believe that we really can do anything we want, whenever we want, and then all of our good "self-esteem" transforms into pride. Galatians 6:14 states, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

We face an enemy who is powerful and who really does not like us. He will do whatever he can to keep us from God, and to make us be ineffective. This includes engulfing us in our own pride. We cannot defeat him in our power or our own strength, any more than we can conquer the world by ourselves. Mark Driscoll writes, "Here's the truth. Jesus is the winner. That's the truth. We're not victorious. He is. We're not righteous. He is. We don't redeem ourselves from slavery to sin."

In our lives and all that we say and do, it is far better for us to focus on Christ rather than on ourselves. Christ is faithful. When we are happy, sad, prideful, humble, at peace or in turmoil. Christ is faithful. Our emotional or spiritual state will never change that. Nothing will.

Living Life