Self Esteem

Nehemiah 6:15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

Be the best you can be! You need to feel and look good! Billions of dollars are spent each year on self esteem books, enhancement surgeries, gym memberships, feel good pills, diet plans and food, and many other things to build self esteem of individuals. It almost seems that the number one agenda in our country is trying to make everyone feel confident in who they are, regardless of what they are. Is that a good thing? A God thing?

Throughout redemptive history, God is intent on bringing an end to our sinful self esteem, and gracefully replacing it with an esteem for Himself that in turn brings a lasting recreation of Himself that is unshakable. Paul calls enhancing ourselves "the works of the flesh" and we all know what that means. The weird thing about it all is this: until we come to the end of our selves and bow the knee to God in a submissive plea for His mercy, we will always have a fragile self esteem no matter how confident it appears to the world. Why? There is a God who is in heaven who will judge evil men who spend their lives trying to convince themselves they are good, and he will do that very thing.

When you dive into Nehemiah 6 above, you see that very thing happening. Earlier in Nehemiah, his enemies were confident and condescending to Nehemiah and the Jews. They looked at Jerusalem and the rag tag band of "rebuilders", compared the Jews collective resources to their own and felt really, really good about themselves and their chances to control Nehemiah's efforts. They had one major miscalculation though, they left God out of the picture.

When God shows up, all of the self esteem books and tips in the world fade into a transparent facade and our weakness is made clear. Nehemiah fueled by an esteem for God, anchored in the strength of God, was unflappable because His God was and still is. I love what the word says of His enemies, "they were afraid and fell in their own esteem". What a picture this is of us all trying to be our own god as we elevate our selves and then the reality of God striking that down.

Is your esteem based on Christ in you? If so you will see yourself as helpless and in need of Him desperately. If you are confidently strutting through this life based on your works and self esteem, you can be assured that will change. The deadliest place to be is in a religious routine that applies Holy precepts to strengthen our own self esteem as we feel better about ourselves. I know, I was there, and when you are it is almost impossible to see and beg for the mercy you need, because you can't see that you need it.

Their is a Savior worthy of all esteem and he wants to recreate Himself in His creation. That would be you and me.