What does Bible say about self-esteem?

[Dave...]

High self esteem in the world of the new psychology seeks to eliminate the guilt of our conscience that results from sin. Unfortunately, this is exactly what many modern day preachers teach when they exclude from their preaching anything that may offend, like preaching on sin.

Matthew 23:11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

"love your neighbor as yourself", as I see it, the "love" in this verse is not in the context of what we call self esteem, but just the general way we care for ourselves, as in this verse... "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (Ephesians 5:29)

We are actually told by Jesus Himself to "deny self". Could it be that we should not esteem ourselves at all, whether it be high or low?

1 Corinthians 4:7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (Also see John 15:4)

Matthew 16:24-25 "if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

There should be a distinction made between "Self esteem", which is a different concept than the old fashioned notion of basic "self respect". God does some of His best work in us when He takes us out of our comfort zones. We need to die to self in the correct way, God's way, victorious, not in Satan's way, defeated.

"if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matt. 16:24-25)

I have posted this just recently, but it bears repeating.

Spurgeon...

Quote:It is ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan's work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of his children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus." All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: he tells us we are nothing, but that "Christ is All in All." Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you--it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you--it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, thought that be the instrument--it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to your hand with which you art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to your hope, but to Jesus, the source of your hope; look not to your faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking unto Jesus." Keep your eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession, be fresh upon your mind; when you wake in the morning look to him; when you lie down at night look to him. Do not let your hopes and fears come between you and Jesus; follow hard after him, and he will never fail you."


What say you?

Dave

 

[electedbyHim]

Philippians 2:3 doing nothing from selfish ambition or vain glory, but with humility of mind regarding one another as more important than yourselves,

I know many Christians use this verse to justify self-love.

Matthew 22:39 “And the second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

But our Lord was not saying what they want it to say.

The self-esteem gospel, Macarthur has many sermons on self-esteem.

This is older, but still relevant.....

The Blind Faith of Self-Esteem​

Advocates of self-esteem have been remarkably successful in convincing people that self-esteem is the solution to whatever ails anyone. One survey revealed that a majority of people view self-esteem as the single most important motivator for hard work and success. In fact, self-esteem ranked several points higher than a sense of responsibility or fear of failure.

But does self-esteem really work? Does it, for example, promote higher achievement? There is plenty of evidence to suggest it does not. In a recent study, a standardized math test was given to teenagers from six different nations. Besides the math questions, the test asked the youngsters to respond yes or no to the question, “I am good at mathematics.” American students scored lowest on the math questions, far behind Korean students, who had the top scores. Ironically, more than three-fourths of the Korean students had answered no to the “I am good at math” question. In stark contrast, however, 68 percent of the American students believed their math skills were just fine. Our kids may be failing math, but they obviously feel pretty good about how they are doing.

Morally, our culture is in precisely the same boat. Empirical evidence strongly suggests, as we have seen, that society is at an all-time moral low. We might expect people’s self-esteem to be suffering as well. But statistics show Americans are feeling better about themselves than ever. In a survey conducted in 1940, 11 percent of women and 20 percent of men agreed with the statement, “I am an important person.” In the 1990s, those figures jumped to 66 percent of women and 62 percent of men. Ninety percent of people surveyed in a recent Gallup Poll say their own sense of self-esteem is robust and healthy. Incredibly, while the moral fabric of society continues to unravel, self-esteem is thriving. All the positive thinking about ourselves seems not to be doing anything to elevate the culture or motivate people to live better lives.

Can it really be that low self-esteem is what is wrong with people today? Does anyone seriously believe that making people feel better about themselves has helped the problems of crime, moral decay, divorce, child abuse, juvenile delinquency, drug addiction, and all the other evils that have dragged society down? Could so much still be wrong in our culture if the assumptions of self-esteem theory were true? Do we really imagine that more self-esteem will finally solve society’s problems? Is there even a shred of evidence that would support such a belief?


Absolutely none. A report in Newsweek suggested that “the case for self-esteem … is a matter less of scientific pedagogy than of faith—faith that positive thoughts can make manifest the inherent goodness in anyone.” In other words, the notion that self-esteem makes people better is simply a matter of blind religious faith. Not only that, it is a religion that is antithetical to Christianity, because it is predicated on the unbiblical presupposition that people are basically good and need to recognize their own goodness.

The Church and the Self-Esteem Cult​

Nevertheless, the most persuasive proponents of self-esteem religion have always included clergymen. Norman Vincent Peale’s “positive thinking” doctrine, which was popular a generation ago, was simply an early self-esteem model. Peale wrote The Power of Positive Thinking in 1952. The book opened with these words: “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities!” In the introduction, Peale called the book a “personal-improvement manual … written with the sole objective of helping the reader achieve a happy, satisfying, and worthwhile life.” The book was marketed as motivational therapy, not theology. But in Peale’s estimation the whole system was merely “applied Christianity; a simple yet scientific system of practical techniques of successful living that works.”

Evangelicals for the most part were slow to embrace a system that called people to faith in themselves rather than faith in Jesus Christ. Self-esteem as Norman Vincent Peale outlined it was the offspring of theological liberalism married to neo-orthodoxy.

The most persuasive proponents of self-esteem religion have always included clergymen.​

Time has evidently worn away evangelicals’ resistance to such doctrine. Now many of the hottest-selling books in evangelical bookstores promote self-esteem and positive thinking. Even Newsweek has commented on the trend. Noting that self-esteem is considered “religiously correct” nowadays, the magazine observed:

The notion [of self-esteem] may put off anyone old enough to remember when “Christian” as an adjective was often followed by “humility.” But American churches, which once did not shrink from calling their congregants wretches, have moved toward a more congenial view of human nature .… Chastising sinners is considered counterproductive: it makes them feel worse about themselves.

Surely the most influential voice selling self-esteem to evangelicals is Norman Vincent Peale’s best-known disciple, Dr. Robert Schuller. Broadcasting weekly to millions of people worldwide, Schuller’s “Hour of Power” telecast relentlessly promotes the “theology” of self-esteem. More than any other source, this weekly media exposure has advocated and normalized self-esteem for the church in our day. It has bred an effective movement by creating an appetite to receive this teaching. Indeed, that is its intent.

Unlike Peale, who until recent years made no pretense of being evangelical, Schuller has always framed his teaching in the terminology of traditional, conservative, Reformed theology. He speaks of conversion, calls unbelievers to be born again, and affirms the need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. But Schuller’s actual teaching owes far more to neo-orthodoxy than to evangelicalism. In fact, his self-esteem doctrines reflect secular humanism, a non-religious system of thought that places human beings, their values, and their needs above the glory of God.

If this teaching is seriously in error, as I am convinced it is, it must be refuted and the church needs to be warned of the danger (Tit. 1:9, ff.).

J. C. Ryle decried the tendency of his own age to tolerate seriously aberrant theology under the rubric of magnanimity and charity:

The tendency of modern thought is to reject dogmas, creeds and every kind of bounds in religion. It is thought grand and wise to condemn no opinion whatsoever, and to pronounce all earnest and clever teachers to be trustworthy, however heterogeneous and mutually destructive their opinions may be. Everything, forsooth, is true and nothing is false! Everybody is right and nobody is wrong! Everybody is likely to be saved and nobody is to be lost!

Christian love demands that we walk in truth (2 Jn. 6), and that we not turn a blind eye to error. Because I preach and publish, I must be held accountable to the Word of God for what I teach. So must all preachers. Please understand that my criticism of Dr. Schuller’s teaching is by no means an attack on his personal character. My concerns are altogether doctrinal, not personal. Because of the aggressive influence of his teaching on the contemporary church worldwide, it is imperative that we let him speak for himself, then measure what he says by the pure Word of God.


MacArthur, J., F., Jr. (1994). The vanishing conscience (Electronic ed.). Logos Library Systems (80). Dallas: Word Pub.

 

[Christ_empowered]

I dunno

Dr.Thomas Szasz, the psychiatrist who debunked psychiatry in the 1960s, writes about both psychology and psychiatry as religions. He writes more about psychiatry in books such as the myth of mental illness…

But he also writes about psychology in the myth of psychotherapy. Moving on…

A lot of religion…any religion…involves supporting society by reinforcing social norms and providing a greater sense of belonging while doing so. So if one takes a step back from any one psychological approach or topic and looks at the whole system as a part of modern society…

It’s scary . Especially in public schools kids get labeled kids get put in classes based in part on such labels and parents are even pressured to put some children on psych drugs so the teachers will be able to handle them. And then…

In the working world personality tests are often required when applying for jobs. These tests are unreliable and often basically useless but remember: psychology is not a science it’s a secular religion for modern society.

I can say from personal experience that the college system is heavily influenced by psychology and psychiatry. This is not at all a good thing. Students who are not well liked are often labeled and end up as drop outs or even find themselves such outcasts that their only real hope is a transfer to another college. On the other hand some students…usually from more affluent backgrounds…are given labels that help them move through the college world and on to other things after graduation.

Self esteem?!? Right now it’s just a generally accepted part of the psychological religion that both influences and supports our outlook and society.

I will say personally that when one sees lots of self esteem talk and self help and people on all kinds of pills …

The larger community possibly the larger society is lacking. I honestly think that people spend time on social media and in the therapists office when there’s nothing larger than themselves to invest in and when the future is bleak and uncertain. It’s becoming more abundantly evident that psychology in particular has fueled the inward retreat and the unending war of all against all in the social realm.

 

[Dave...]

Elected

Yeah, Joel Osteen comes to mind. That guy exemplifies everything that JMac pointed out. I used to print out and read a MacArthur sermon just about every day for about two years.

When a person bottoms out in sin, or just the lies of this world, the first thing that they look for is the truth. Just like an alcoholic who bottoms out. At that point they usually go through a self help book phase. I did. I read "The Power of Positive Thinking", "A Road Less Traveled" etc. To my own shame, I saved Christ Jesus for last. I really didn't think that answers were going to be there. Boy was I wrong.

I remember after reading the power of positive thinking how empty I felt. It didn't help like I thought it would. I felt really good when I started to read it because I was doing something, making progress. But after, it just was another lie, but I didn't know it at the time.


Empowered.

Psychology and psychiatry, I always thought that they were the same. What's the difference?

Anyways, you can tell if something is corrupt by what it's selling. The psychology and psychiatry have been right in line with the 'communist goals 1963' from the beginning. It's amazing how they eased themselves into our Courts of Law and now are a big part of making those laws, whether by the bench, or giving now what is considered credible testimony in all kinds of trials and cases, thus setting precedence.

Warning, I'm going to rant here.

I always thought that the many of the meds they prescribe have the same effect as alcohol or drugs, as a result, keep people from ever facing the true problems or getting better. All of the above, alcohol, drugs, depression meds, and anxiety meds, all stunt emotional growth...they keep a person from ever growing emotionally by facing life's difficulties, not running from them. In reality, shifting from alcohol and/or drugs to depression and/or anxiety meds doesn't solve anything. It just keeps one from the emotional growth they need to grow out of needing them in the first place. I was on anxiety meds for a while and decided to do without, even though I believe that in some ways, I actually benefited from them because I've had this anxiety problem from birth. But the down side of it was greater than the gain. I always. wonder if this downside was always part of it by design. I think people who take those meds should have a twelve step program when they come off of them. It has the same negative affect as alcohol and drugs. It stunts your emotional growth. That makes a person dependent on them for life. The bottom line is this, changing from any of these, to any of these, that being alcohol, drugs, any "disorder", anxiety meds, depression meds, keeps a person from the real cure. Face life's difficulties without a crutch, grow emotionally, and never 'need' any of those things again. Just go through the twelve steps. Add anything that you would use to escape the emotional stresses of life to the list of don't mess with. Find healthier ways to deal with stress. Lift weights, jog, walk, any outdoor activity. chalk this up to things that I learned the hard way. Those meds are just alcohol and drugs without the high, but with all that same negative affects because they stunt your emotional growth. Which is foundational to 'needing' all these things to begin with.

Wew, I feel better. lol

Dave

 

[for_his_glory]

When you can start loving yourself as Christ loves you then the low self esteem will go away, but if you hold yourself in high esteem then this becomes a lover of self.

2Tim 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Tim 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Tim 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Tim 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Tim 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

 

[electedbyHim]

Elected

Yeah, Joel Osteen comes to mind. That guy exemplifies everything that JMac pointed out. I used to print out and read a MacArthur sermon just about every day for about two years.

When a person bottoms out in sin, or just the lies of this world, the first thing that they look for is the truth. Just like an alcoholic who bottoms out. At that point they usually go through a self help book phase. I did. I read "The Power of Positive Thinking", "A Road Less Traveled" etc. To my own shame, I saved Christ Jesus for last. I really didn't think that answers were going to be there. Boy was I wrong.

I remember after reading the power of positive thinking how empty I felt. It didn't help like I thought it would. I felt really good when I started to read it because I was doing something, making progress. But after, it just was another lie, but I didn't know it at the time.


Empowered.

Psychology and psychiatry, I always thought that they were the same. What's the difference?

Anyways, you can tell if something is corrupt by what it's selling. The psychology and psychiatry have been right in line with the 'communist goals 1963' from the beginning. It's amazing how they eased themselves into our Courts of Law and now are a big part of making those laws, whether by the bench, or giving now what is considered credible testimony in all kinds of trials and cases, thus setting precedence.

Warning, I'm going to rant here.

I always thought that the many of the meds they prescribe have the same effect as alcohol or drugs, as a result, keep people from ever facing the true problems or getting better. All of the above, alcohol, drugs, depression meds, and anxiety meds, all stunt emotional growth...they keep a person from ever growing emotionally by facing life's difficulties, not running from them. In reality, shifting from alcohol and/or drugs to depression and/or anxiety meds doesn't solve anything. It just keeps one from the emotional growth they need to grow out of needing them in the first place. I was on anxiety meds for a while and decided to do without, even though I believe that in some ways, I actually benefited from them because I've had this anxiety problem from birth. But the down side of it was greater than the gain. I always. wonder if this downside was always part of it by design. I think people who take those meds should have a twelve step program when they come off of them. It has the same negative affect as alcohol and drugs. It stunts your emotional growth. That makes a person dependent on them for life. The bottom line is this, changing from any of these, to any of these, that being alcohol, drugs, any "disorder", anxiety meds, depression meds, keeps a person from the real cure. Face life's difficulties without a crutch, grow emotionally, and never 'need' any of those things again. Just go through the twelve steps. Add anything that you would use to escape the emotional stresses of life to the list of don't mess with. Find healthier ways to deal with stress. Lift weights, jog, walk, any outdoor activity. chalk this up to things that I learned the hard way. Those meds are just alcohol and drugs without the high, but with all that same negative affects because they stunt your emotional growth. Which is foundational to 'needing' all these things to begin with.

Wew, I feel better. lol

Dave

When a person bottoms out in sin, or just the lies of this world, the first thing that they look for is the truth. Just like an alcoholic who bottoms out. At that point they usually go through a self help book phase. I did. I read "The Power of Positive Thinking", "A Road Less Traveled" etc. To my own shame, I saved Christ Jesus for last. I really didn't think that answers were going to be there. Boy was I wrong.

I remeber a few weeks after the Lord saved, I was looking to change my atitude over alcohol, drugs. and tobacco. I was in the penitentiary at the time, and I received a self-help book by Joyce Meyer. I remeber reading the book sensing something was very off with that woman.

About half way through, I could no longer read her book, this woman was not speaking from God but from satan. At the same time the purpose driven life came out and that book was a mess as well.

The Lord's Spirit had me stay in His written word where I learned truth.

After a while I had a copy of one of John nmacarthurs books and everything in it was against my flesh and knew it was written from a man who loves the Lord.

My point is that the written word of God is all we need for anything that ails us mentally.

The Lord has used John Macarthur in my life signifigantly, through his sermons, books and commentaries.

Spurgeon, Martyn Lloyd Jones and a huge list of others have have also been part of my walk.

 

[Christ_empowered]

Mental health is a big industry. It’s mostly a dead end for people. In my life the mental health industry destroyed me when I was out in the world ….

And now God has used it to bridge me into society after having been on the edge.

I dunno

I’m officially labeled with schizoaffective bipolar type. More severe than bipolar I not as severe as Schizophrenia. Falls under the category severe mental illness. I actually had a counseling appointment recently and…

I dunno where would I be if I hadn’t been subjected to heavy excessive involuntary shock treatments at a young age? As a Christian I think and believe that Romans 8:28 applies. And…

God called me when I was an angry victim of psychiatry and now I’ve been made healthy smart and remarkably normal. But…

The world waits for no one. At the time of the first round of shock I had an estimated 120 iq. The second I was down to 95 or so. Now the estimate is 145 or 150 and that’s all God’s mercy. He has also brought deliverance to me in my lifetime which is huge!

But…yeah…

In general not a fan of the mental health industry. Now I’m not so much anti psychiatry so much as I am for Jesus Christ and by extension for truth and…

Honestly?!? They don’t seem to help people. Not the pill doctors not the shock doctors not the therapists or self help….

And a lot of it when one really looks at it is anti Christian beliefs masquerading as science.

 

[electedbyHim]

Mental health is a big industry. It’s mostly a dead end for people. In my life the mental health industry destroyed me when I was out in the world ….

And now God has used it to bridge me into society after having been on the edge.

I dunno

I’m officially labeled with schizoaffective bipolar type. More severe than bipolar I not as severe as Schizophrenia. Falls under the category severe mental illness. I actually had a counseling appointment recently and…

I dunno where would I be if I hadn’t been subjected to heavy excessive involuntary shock treatments at a young age? As a Christian I think and believe that Romans 8:28 applies. And…

God called me when I was an angry victim of psychiatry and now I’ve been made healthy smart and remarkably normal. But…

The world waits for no one. At the time of the first round of shock I had an estimated 120 iq. The second I was down to 95 or so. Now the estimate is 145 or 150 and that’s all God’s mercy. He has also brought deliverance to me in my lifetime which is huge!

But…yeah…

In general not a fan of the mental health industry. Now I’m not so much anti psychiatry so much as I am for Jesus Christ and by extension for truth and…

Honestly?!? They don’t seem to help people. Not the pill doctors not the shock doctors not the therapists or self help….

And a lot of it when one really looks at it is anti Christian beliefs masquerading as science.

Yep, been down that path.

I was labeled other things through their "wisdom".

But we are labeled Christians.

 

[Dave...]

The world waits for no one. At the time of the first round of shock I had an estimated 120 iq. The second I was down to 95 or so. Now the estimate is 145 or 150 and that’s all God’s mercy. He has also brought deliverance to me in my lifetime which is huge!

I took that IQ test once and scored a 90. Now I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but 90? A year later I took another IQ test and made it a point to take my time and think it through. You see the first time, out of boredom I rushed through it to get an quicker score. That seemed to be counter productive because the second time that I took that test, I scored a 145. Yet I think that officially, there are supposed to be time limits. So the best that I can figure is that I'm stupid when I have to think fast, and the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle of the two scores. Sounds about right, I've always been somewhat gullible in a knee jerk reaction. I'd take those IQ test scores with a grain of salt. There are different ways to be smart, or stupid. Street smart, book smart. common sense smart. Even common sense can be short sighted. I'll take Biblical smart over all that any day of the week.

 

[Christ_empowered]

I don’t know how psychologists do iq estimates. I think it’s based on stuff I’ve written? But I dunno I never took any test or anything. The claim is that so called experts can estimate within 10 points.

I’m not all about the numbers so much as it shows how merciful God is to His children. Redemption restoration…things God still does that don’t happen in the world ….

 

[johnalex]

This is such a powerful reminder! The world often pushes the idea of high self-esteem as a way to soothe guilt and elevate self, but true freedom and peace come from denying self and focusing on Christ. As you pointed out, Jesus Himself calls us to humble ourselves and take up our cross, this is where the real victory lies. It’s not about exalting our own worth, but about seeing ourselves through the lens of His grace and mercy. Spurgeon’s quote is so spot on! Our focus should always be on Christ, not our own efforts or failings. It’s not our grip on Him that saves us, but His hold on us. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we are freed from the trap of self-centeredness and can truly walk in His peace and purpose.

 

[Dave...]

Amen John. Good post.

Empowered. When I took that second IQ test, I made it a point on the questions that I guessed on, which was basically the whole last page, to try to not pick the answers that first jumped out at me as the best guess. As you noted, I think that those tests are designed to eliminate false readings, and one way they do this is to put in one answer, that at a superficial glance, most people will be drawn to when guessing. This way the reading are not based on a bunch of good guesses. It must have worked, because I don't think that I'm 145 IQ smart. Is it worth some points to outsmart the IQ test? I like to think so. It's better than deducting points for dumb luck.

Dave

 

[Christ_empowered]

Speaking of mental health stuff…

It dawned on me that the treatment even the diagnosis depends on one’s social status. I was so destroyed that the only reason I get decent care is because of my parents. At first…before my parents forgave me…

I was openly ridiculed counseling was a ridiculous exercise in cruelty and the meds just piled on no real rhyme or reason and minimal monitoring. And now…

I do like my counselor. I’ll say that right off. And he didn’t invent the system. But I doubt he’d be my counselor or that my meds would be carefully selected and monitored like now…

Eek I do life better on my moderate dose of tranquilizer than I do off of it so I’m increasingly thankful . But there’s still the question of whaaa? I mean if schizophrenia etc are so terrible and need treatment why do they treat us schizophrenic people so terribly? And why are the treatments basically dozens of different dopamine blockers? I mean mine helps and I tolerate it so yay but…

Thorazine is the original tranquilizer for schizophrenia and it’s been in use since the 1950s. Not much progress since then I’m afraid…

 

[Dave...]

That sounds familiar.

Long ago, I was given a prescription for having a hard time sleeping. I ran into a girl I know who works with that kind of stuff. She told me that the meds they gave me were for schizophrenia. I think Thorazine was what it was. I was told to take a half tablet every night. Needless to say, I threw them away. I needed help getting to sleep, but not that stuff. I would have never known had I not run into her. Makes me wonder If I wasn't a guinea pig. If you think they don't do that stuff, read "Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of ...".

 

[Christ_empowered]

Some of the tranquilizers for schizophrenia are very sedating. Thorazine and seroquel in particular. There’s been some media coverage about doctors using those drugs off label for everything from sleep problems to just reactions to stress. Ridiculous.