Self Esteem Need an Overhaul?

The lie of self-esteem is this: If I believe that I am good enough, or that I am worthy enough, I will be happy.

• In the secular world, it sounds like this: Believe in yourself. You deserve it. Learn to love yourself.
• In the Christian world, it sounds like this: If you just believe that you are loved by God, you will be happy. Or, accept yourself because God has already accepted you.

They all sound pretty good, actually. Nothing wrong with that—right? But there is. Do you hear it? Me, me, me. The lie of self-esteem is that I need to do something. I need to believe something, or I need to accept something in order to be happy or complete.

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Left to our own devices, our sinful nature cannot help but express itself. Sure, we try to do the right things, but doing things on the outside does not change the inside. Our hearts are still the same. Be honest with yourself. Our natural tendency is not to do good things.
I’ll use my kids as an example. Since last fall I have thought that I really need to be a nicer mother. Now most of you who even know me fairly well would say, “You’re always so nice to your kids.” Not true. Just ask them. I have found that I say, “No,” an awful lot, and when I took an honest look at myself, I realized I was saying, “No,” because it was inconvenient to me.

• I don’t want them to jump on the bed because that means I will have to tidy it again.
• I don’t want to give them a snack because that means I have to get up from checking my email to get it for them.
• I don’t want to do that craft right now because it will be another mess for me to clean up.

Hear it? Me, me, me. And now when I know that the days I have with them are few, I find myself saying, “Yes,” a lot more.



The preceeding are two excerpts from today's broadcast from Revive Our Hearts. At a speaking engagement in British Columbia, Rachel Barkey gives her testimony. She discuses life, dying, and Jesus. To read the entire transcript, click here. For MP3 click here. For Windows Media, click here. For Podcast, click here. 


I hope this testimony touches you as it has me. 


Fight the good fight!
Jenny