Building Biblical Self Esteem
A young boy posted this sign in bold letters on his bedroom wall: “I’m me and I’m good, cause God made me and God don’t make junk.” Poor grammar perhaps, but this boy had a great attitude and understanding toward life.
We humans are both very strong and very fragile. We have a strength that can survive the horror of a concentration camp and at the same time weakness that cannot tolerate a social slight nor rejection by one we love.
Self-esteem is “how much a person likes, accepts, and respects himself overall as a person”.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LOW SELF-ESTEEM:
A teenager with low self-esteem will:
·Demean his own talents
·Feel that others don’t value him
·Feel powerless
·Be easily influenced by others
·Express a narrow range of emotions
·Avoid situations that provoke anxiety
·Become defensive and easily frustrated
·Blame others for their own weaknesses
Low self-esteem has been correlated with low life satisfaction, loneliness, anxiety, resentment, irritability and depression.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH SELF-ESTEEM:
A teenager with high self-esteem will:
·Act independently
·Assume responsibility
·Be proud of accomplishments
·Approach new challenges with enthusiasm
·Exhibit a broad range of emotions
·Tolerate frustration well
·Feel capable of influencing others
High self-esteem has been correlated with academic success in high school, internal locus of control, high family outcome, positive sense of self-attractiveness.

Quotations:
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes of your goal. Henry Ford

It is better to be prepared of an opportunity and not have had one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared. Whitney Young Jr.

Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. Henry Ford

Life is like riding a bicycle. You don’t fall off unless you stop pedaling. Claude Pepper

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. Hugh Downs

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. Abraham Lincoln
In his book, Orthodoxy, GK Chesterton once wrote, “I felt and feel that life itself is as bright as a diamond but as brittle as the windowpane, and when the heavens were compared to the terrible crystal, I can remember a shudder. I was afraid that God would drop the Cosmos with a crash.”
Remember, however, that to be breakable is not the same as perishable. Strike a glass and it will not endure in an instant; simply do not strike it and it will last a thousand years.
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
1 John 4:12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 John 3:23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.1 Peter 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another in love.
Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
* Question: Are you demonstrating the Love of God in every aspect of your life?

True humility recognizes our strengths as well as our weaknesses and is not preoccupied with either. This is a key challenge for every Christian to acknowledge and practice.

Conceit or pride is thinking we are better than others or that we are self sufficient and don’t need God. The world is full of this mentality and our job as Christians is to help those individuals or groups that adhere to this mindset.

When we meet people that are often bragging about their talents or superiority, those individuals often have poor self esteem or self image. Such people brag, hoping above all that they will eventually believe themselves. But if we are sure we are OK, we don’t have to tell everyone about it.

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

If we are to be happy and go through life with a minimum of problems, we need an assurance that we are loved and accepted and that we belong. God has made each of us unique. Fellowship is encouraged for the purpose that we don’t forget who we are in Christ and to build up one another. Old Saying: “The best way to solve your problem is to help someone with theirs.”

Question: How does your outlook or actions compare to the above? Are you dependent on God in every aspect of your life?

Nurturing a positive self esteem whether for yourself or others depends on the language and statements that we make on a daily basis. When parents and other caregivers are positive, sensitive, and loving, we pick up on a sense of self worth, confidence, and self esteem. Do we encourage others to win at all costs or to give their best in everything they do?

2 Samuel 19:7 encourage your men. I swear by the LORD that if you don't go out, not a man will be left with you by nightfall. This will be worse for you than all the calamities that have come upon you from your youth till now."

Isaiah 1:17 learn to do right! Seek justice encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

Ezekiel 13:22 Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives,
Although cultivation and development of a good self image and self esteem may be rooted in childhood, it is also a continuing process subject to our own choices in life. Whatever we choose to put into our minds is what we will ultimately share with others and ourselves. An example would be an individual that watches television several hours a day versus someone who reads the Bible, attends Bible study, attends church services whenever available. In that scenario who do you think would have a better attitude or self esteem?

Question: Are you an encourager? Are you developing yourself to your fullest God given potential?