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NASB | Romans 12:3 ¶ For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 12:3 ¶ For by the grace [of God] given to me I say to everyone of you not to think more highly of himself [and of his importance and ability] than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has apportioned to each a degree of faith [and a purpose designed for service]. |
Subject: How high is your self-esteem? |
Bible Note: Greetings: I visited the review and truly I'm sorry if that has kept you from examining McGee's work. It seems to me that, apart from God's Word, everything (especially much of what is written here on this Forum) should not be taken as Gospel - we should be digging into God's Word as the Bereans. (I'm just wondering if the reviewer had an axe to grind since he really dissected this! I guess when I read it I wasn't out looking for error, but looking to see what God's Word had to offer through the eyes of a "professional" - and as for me, I see nothing wrong with psychology. Since God wired us, why not consult Him and His agents when the "wires get crossed?") One of the things that I liked BEST about this book as that McGee DOES use basic Biblical doctrine to identify the lies we commonly believe. He offers the antidote to this poison with the Biblical truths of who we are in Jesus. By rejecting who we are, do we not reject our Creator, who "knew us" and loved us (just the way we are) before we drew a breath? Is this sin? I'd also call this low self esteem. High self esteem often means self sufficiency rather than God dependency - even in our "ministry" we can depend upon self-effort rather than allow God to be at work through us. I'd call this is pride, or high self esteem; this too is sin. Now what was it that Jesus died for? Sinners!! So the key is to know who we are in Christ first. Here is where we will find our authetic worth, value, significance, or esteem. I see self esteem as a form of idolatry, for WE assign value on the basis of who WE think we are (often based upon our performance or what others think about us)rather than rely upon what God says. God's Word tells us to change the way we think, and to not be conformed to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:2). When our thinking is aligned with God's, His thoughts about who we are can become ours. I say "can" because we each have a choice to believe what God says about us or what "WE" want to believe. As far as prescribing a book . . .I don't think you could charge a counsulting fee for that do you? My suggestion was only to consider this text and see if any of your clients are responding to the lies of Satan rather that the truth of God in their perceptions of who they are and how they relate to others. There are pratical things that people can participate in to unmask erroneous thinking and work with God to change (This is one of my pet peeves about psychologists - they listen well but offer no practical solutions that the client can use on an ongoing - independent- basis) McGee's work makes lots of sense to me. I have had my eyes opened to areas of my life that were totally based upon wrong thinking resulting in motives etc . . .I am now better equipped to recognize the "lies" which has really drawn me closer to the cross of Christ. On that level ground, I am able to love others and respond in a more God-honoring manner to hurts and disappointments. Even though he is a defeated foe, the devil is a cunning adversary. As believers, we have God's Word as our weapon, but some of us just need a little more help in understanding how to apply and use it! Here's where you come in - how I would love to know that my psychologist was using God's Word as a basis of therapy! Thank you for the encouragement; I have been taking from this book, the principles of God's Word which have enabled me to walk in freedom and make me more aware of those times when I fall prey to error. mommapbs |