Description: How we think about and judge ourselves -- our self-esteem -- has its foundation in the positive and negative messages we receive from parents, family members, teachers, peers and various care givers as we grow up. To the extent that we take these messages to heart -- both the good and the bad -- and make them our own determines in no small measure our degree of happiness, the quality of our personal relationships, the contributions we are able to make to society and the world in which we live. The secular character of our world, with its insistence on the values of independence and self-sufficiency militate against our making a proper estimation of our true place in the broader scheme of things. When we seem for a time to succeed, we take our gifts for granted and become proud and narcissistic. And when we fall short, we are easily overwhelmed by feelings of guilt and shame. The fact that we are made in the image and likeness of God who loves us unconditionally, with all our faults and imperfections -- even to the point of dying on the cross for us -- provides us with a solid basis upon which to build a healthy self-esteem. This spiritual dimension of our lives is explored here in depth from both a biblical and a psychological perspective keeping in mind that growth in self-esteem is a process not an end in itself, a journey of the spirit led by the Spirit of God and not a destination.

Please Wait