Thank God for Low Self-Esteem

2021-08-19

Thank God for low self-esteem.

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)

We spend a lot of time talking about self-esteem, how to love yourself well, and other similar things. The Scriptures say “no.” We have tried to explain Luke 14:26 away, but it cannot be done.

The extreme statement concerning our relatives in this verse implies that if we must choose between acceptance from our family and serving Christ, then the choice is clear (cf. Matthew 10:34-36; Luke 12:51-53). In the first century, it was commonplace to be rejected by your family and friends due to your commitment to Christ. Not everyone needs to choose between the two today in a place that is culturally “Christian” like America.

However, the self-life does not work the same way. Your old life apart from Christ cannot coexist with Christ.

Much of what is called low self-esteem is actually pride in disguise. The woe-is-me attitude centers on ourselves.

Real low self-esteem is realizing that there is nothing worth anything in ourselves apart from Christ, “for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

I hate my multitude of failures. I hate any success also because what are they worth 1,000 years from now? The endless pursuit to be accepted by others, career advancement, comparing myself with others, the fear, the timidity, misplaced boldness, the myriad sin where even the “good” works are sin because of misplaced motive. All that stuff is a part of the old man and its system. This is the same as Paul’s resume of both honor and shame (cf. Philippians 3:4-7; 2 Corinthians 11:21-33; 12:1-10)... The whole system is trash and irredeemable. Crucifixion with Christ and rebirth is the only solution.

We have total inability to please the Lord within ourselves. To say we are worthless or awesome is to miss everything. Christ is everything. The Father Himself has positioned us in Christ so that we can accomplish His work. The work is His. We are mere vessels of His glory and workmanship. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

The good thing about our personal halls of fame and shame is that they repeatedly point to the need for Jesus Christ. It shows that we cannot draw any power for life and service from ourselves, because our resources are a dumpster fire. We must rely on the Lord, and that He will perform His perfect will: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11). Low self-esteem is a tutor to help us trust in Jesus and not in ourselves. Thank God for low self-esteem.

This is the seventh perspective in the pulling down of strong holds.