Self-esteem seems to be an issue that I hear a lot about in today's culture. It seems like many people struggle with low self-worth, and many secular inspirational sayings have to do with valuing oneself. The issue of having a low self-worth is something that touched me and I wrote "My Father's Princess" to try and address the subject. Everyone is special and unique, and being confident in who you are is not a bad thing--in fact, it is a biblical command to recognize the value of each individual person.
However, the disconnect that I seem to be seeing between biblical self-worth and secular self-esteem is this: Where are you finding your worth? If you look to Jesus, who declared "I have loved you; I have called you by name, you are Mine," (Is. 43) then you will see how much He values you, and you can find your worth and your confidence in Him. God thought about you before time even began. He planned all your days, created you unlike any other human being in the history of the planet, and placed you right where you are right now so that you could accomplish the purpose that only you were created to accomplish. Jesus valued your life so much that He died for you even when you were running from Him. The Heavenly Father has adopted you as His child, and you are infinitely precious in His eyes. God is where your self-worth comes from.
If, however, you are looking inside of yourself as many people who are trying to sound inspiring are telling you to do, you won't be apt to find much. In fact, you might just get more discouraged as you find that "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Ps. 51:5) and, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9) This type of self-esteem is called pride, and pride is a very serious sin warned against in many places in the Bible. Pride is the attitude that you are better, more competent, more important, and wiser than others--or God. A prideful heart can really do damage to your relationship with others in your life, not to mention your relationship with God. 'For "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."' (1 Peter 5:5)
The tricky thing with pride is that it takes root in the most discrete ways. To some degree, we ALL struggle with pride on one level or another. Pride can be manifested overtly, but it can also be an attitude buried deep in one's heart. Thinking of yourself more highly than others seems like something easy to avoid, but we can subconsciously slip into that attitude easier than anything. I find myself constantly needing to examine my heart and really ask myself if my thinking is as humble as I'd like to believe.
I have noticed that pride and self-esteem, though two very different virtues (in fact, one is more of a vice,) seem to get very confused in today's culture. It is common to meet people who act pridefully but will justify it saying that they simply have high self-esteem. Especially now, as Christians are losing their influence to the world, I think it is especially important that we learn the difference between the two qualities, and keep our hearts in line with His.
