Results 1 - 5 of 5
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | How do I (you, we) come across? | Rom 12:3 | Aixen7z4 | 97625 | ||
I agree. So now please tell us: How high is your self-esteem? Do you think of yourself as a king or as a servant? Do you combine them both? And then what do you get? Romans 12:3 is in the context of fitting into the body, the church. Does it not matter then, how you come across to people? The question has the serious goal of helping us to have a proper self-concept and to carry ourselves accordingly. |
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2 | How do I (you, we) come across? | Rom 12:3 | Hank | 97697 | ||
Aixen - EdB, adroitly blending scriptural passages with personal experience, came up with an excellent answer that I do not presume to equal. However, two small points come to mind. The first is that Jesus obviously never questioned man's capacity for self-love and thus gave few discourses that could be viewed as pep talks designed to enhance self-esteem. Instead He told His followers to love their neighbor as they loved themselves. The second point I would try to make is that being overly concerned with the image we project -- how we come across -- to people is itself narcissistic and really has no place in the life of a follower of Christ. It was a minister of yesteryear -- I can't recall just who it was -- who said, "People who are wrapped up in themselves make small packages." There are doubtlessly some people who have what the psychologists call "low self-esteem." But they are very possibly far outnumbered by the self-centered snobs who are overly endowed with egotism. The message of the Bible is to lead a life centered not on self but on Christ. Even the most worldly psychologist would endorse that as being sound therapy! --Hank | ||||||
3 | How do I (you, we) come across? | Rom 12:3 | Aixen7z4 | 97716 | ||
Please be kind to the psychologists. I am one of them, and we are trying to help the people. You are willing to accept the possibility that there are Christians with low self-esteem? Please consider that we are telling the truth when we say that many people come to us with actual self-loathing. True, we may sometimes label them, but here I am quoting them. And we are trying to help them. You believe that there are "self-centered snobs who are overly endowed with egotism"? These people are like that in spite of the fact "the message of the Bible is to lead a life centered not on self but on Christ". We would like to help them as well. You are doubtless correct in noting that Jesus "gave few discourses ... designed to enhance self-esteem". The implication is that people have a natural capacity for, and inclination to, self-love. Again, that may be true. We think that neglect and abuse, emotional and physical, may be mitigating against that natural tendency and leaving people feeling badly about themselves. We try to help them to overcome these effects. But we are concerned about the "self-centered snobs" as well. Perhaps it is to them that Paul is saying, "Don't think too highly of yourself", but they're not listening. We would like to help them. By the way, there are some of us who practice as Christian psychologists because we believe that we need to help each other to obey the Lord's commands. Not simply to remind them, but to help them. If they say they are thinking too lowly, then we can give them a hand up. If they admit that they think too highly then we can help them to think soberly. But if a person says "I'm perfect", then we cannot help them. When you say there are people with low sel-esteem and people who are snobs, you must be either despising them or wishing they would get help. Please do not discourage us from trying to help. When you say that the most worldly psychologist would endorse the idea of leading a life centered on Christ, I am mystified. Do you really believe that? Perhaps we can think of the question "How high is your self-esteem?" as being analogous to one asking "How high is your blood pressure?". There is an optimum level or range, and in both cases we can be too high or too low. It might be good to check it. |
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4 | How do I (you, we) come across? | Rom 12:3 | Hank | 97719 | ||
Aixen - My formal study of psychology has been limited to a single course as a college freshman. About the only thing I remember from the entire class is the definition of psychology that the professor gave during his introductory lecture. After looking menacingly around at us class members, he said, "Psychology is the study of how you got that way." The remaining lectures seemed to wander downhill after that. That class was easily the most boring and the professor the dullest that I ever experienced in all my years of formal education. So I ask you to pardon me if I don't seem terribly awed by the prospect of phychology being able to do a great deal to aid the Christian in his walk with Christ. But you read me wrong when you interpret my remarks as being an effort to discourage you from helping people. Whence you drew that inference is beyond me. Repeatedly you have talked about helping or at least trying to help persons on either end of the esteem spectrum, but you never quite say how. And yes, I do believe that any psychologist who had his head on straight would endorse having faith in something or someone outside himself, even if the mythical "worldly psychologist" in my reference didn't himself give two hoots about Christ or Christianity. About self-esteem and blood pressure. I've never given a thought to having the former checked, but my doctor checks my blood pressure every time I consult him. The blood pressure is always fine and so I don't worry about it. My self-esteem may be all out of whack for all I know. I've lived 68 happy years, 54 as a Christian and 44 as a happily married man without giving any serious attention to my self-esteem and I figure it's too late to start worrying about it now. I've other things to do that I enjoy far better than monkeying around with my self-esteem. I'm reasonably sure if you did a psychological profile on me, you'd discover I'm as nutty as a fruitcake. But I'm happy, saved, have a fine family whom I love dearly, have true and dear friends of long standing, and I've managed to make a good living for my family, retire without being on welfare, and have never been in jail in my life nor have I ever been to the funny farm! :-) ..... --Hank | ||||||
5 | How do I (you, we) come across? | Rom 12:3 | Aixen7z4 | 97744 | ||
It would not be easy to reveal how we would help someone with self-esteem problems in a forum such as this. For one thing, we would be exposing ourselves to criticism from people who had one course in psychology fifty years ago and do not understand what we are saying. That would not be profitable. It might just be useful here to say that God has made us, body and soul and spirit. If we care about our bodies, enough to have a blood pressure taken on a regular basis, we might do well to consider having our psyches checked from time to time for self-esteem. But I can understand that you feel fine and do not see the need to visit that kind of doctor. If you ever feel the need for psychological help, may I suggest that you choose your doctor very carefully. I would not expect a worldly psychologist to be recommending that you live a life centered on Christ. After all, he is not doing it himself. But there are some consecrated practitioners in this field who would do just that. You would want to choose someone who has a philosophy of life, and a faith, that is compatible with yours. For a person such as you, Hank, it would not be difficult to adjust the self-esteem if it ever got out of whack. From this distance it seems to be fine. But if you were concerned, before he did anything about it, the psychologist would measure it. I doubt very much that you are as nutty as you say, though I do detect slight indications of a healthy sense of humor. It is my professional opinion that you are fine, and that your heart is strong for the Lord. Stay well. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy body prospereth. |
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