Pastor's pen: Imitating Christ’s humility

Self-esteem. What is it? Plainly put it is “confidence in one’s own worth”. Healthy self-esteem is a good thing, especially for a follower of Christ, because it readily understands one’s worth in the sight of God. However the elusiveness of self-esteem or worth in the world today indicates the emphasis may not be on the “worth” aspect of self-esteem as much as it is on the “self” aspect. The way some people, and there are many of us Christians in this basket as well, who in pursuit of their sense of worth are being self-ish about it. The problem we run into is this: Even as Christians we fall into the trap of comparing ourselves with those around us, seeking validation in how we measure up in comparison to others.

As in all lessons of life the Christ follower, rather than looking at and comparing ourselves to the people around us, should always look to the example set by Jesus, for attitude and for actions. And may we be sure Jesus was very confident in who He was. Yet that did not make Him self-absorbed and nor did it make Him competitive with His contemporaries; even those who set themselves up as rivals.

In Philippians 2:3, 5-7  we read, “ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves…Your attitude should be the same of that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant…”

Jesus was not conflicted about who He was or how valuable He was. It was His confidence that enabled him to take the humbled position that God had given Him. And the passage makes clear that we too, having a clear sense of our identity and our value as a redeemed child of God, should be confident of what God says about us, allowing that confidence to shape our attitude toward others. “In humility consider other better than yourselves…” does not mean your measuring your worth against others. It does mean that because your God’s child you can serve others with a Godly humility, just as Jesus did. It won’t make you lesser person; it will actually establish you as one God can truly use to accomplish His purposes here on earth.

I can have healthy self-esteem. It flows out of knowing just how much God loves me and the value He has placed on my life. That fact sets me free to serve others selflessly.