One of the questions people spend their lives trying to answer is: Am I wanted? We often try to answer it with what we do (I know I did). We try to do what we think everyone else wants from us, and if we do them well, they’ll want us. We try to do what we think God wants from us, and maybe if we do it well, He’ll want us. The Cross shows us we are already wanted. Jesus didn’t want to go to the Cross. He endured the Cross because He wanted us.
Self-Esteem
Bob Goff
He’s asking us, “Will you take what you think defines you, leave it behind, and let Me define who you are instead?” The cool thing about taking Jesus up on His offer is that whatever controls you doesn’t anymore. People who used to be obsessed about becoming famous no longer care whether anybody knows their name. People who used to want power are willing to serve. People who used to chase money freely give it away. People who used to beg others for acceptance are now strong enough to give love. When we get our security from Christ, we no longer have to look for it in the world, and that’s a pretty good trade.
Seth Dahl
If we self-shame and self-judge, we create a filter around us where every interaction sounds like we are being shamed and judged. Sometimes instead of thinking someone else is judging us, we need to check if we’ve been doing it to ourselves.
Jason Vallotton
Insecurity, loneliness, frustration, self-hatred, anger, or the like—that goes unchecked will eventually grow into something massive. It may not be today or tomorrow, but it’s much like a sliver under your skin. Left unattended, that sliver will begin to fester and grow an infection until it’s so painful that you don’t want anyone to touch it. But until you remove the sliver, the infection will continue to grow.
Kris Vallotton
Whether we are cleaning toilets or leading a country, we should never lose sight of the fact that whenever we are doing something for God, we are doing a great work that makes our life worth living.
Henri J.M. Nouwen
The more we allow our accomplishments — the results of our actions — to become the criteria of our self-esteem, the more we are going to walk on our mental and spiritual toes, never sure if we will be able to live up to the expectations which we created by our last successes.
Author Unknown
How should we love our self? We should be kind and respectful, just as we should be with others. We should forgive and forget the past rather than beating ourselves over the head with our failures and mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. Why let them be an anchor holding us back from making progress?