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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 do I (you, we) come across? |
Bible Note: 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. |