18. A TRUTHFUL IMAGE OF MYSELF WILL NOT CAUSE ME TO BECOME PROUD, BUT RATHER IT WILL LEAD TO MY HUMILITY.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
HOW DOES ALL OF THIS EMPHASIS ON CONSIDERING OURSELVES AS VALUED AND WORTHY OF GOD'S LOVE FEEL TO YOU?
WHAT ARE THE VOICES THAT MAY BE RESISTING THESE IDEAS?
WHERE ARE THE VOICES FROM?
IF YOU CONSIDER THAT GOD INTENTIONALLY CREATED YOU AND SHAPED YOU TO HAVE VALUE AND REFLECT HIS IMAGE TO OTHERS, HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL?
As we work to adjust and correct our image of ourselves, we might wonder if there is a downside to this effort. Like a pendulum that swings from one extreme to another, is it possible to think too highly of oneself? Romans 12:3 warns against this: "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you" (NIV).
The Apostle Paul was responding to a problem in the church at Rome. Certain people began to think of themselves as superior to others. Paul countered this faulty thinking with an analogy of the body. He reminded his readers that every person is part of one body. All parts are essential, and no part is more important than another. The danger comes when we form our self-image by comparing ourselves.
When we elevate ourselves as superior to others, we are falling into pride. C. S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory states, "It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor's glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken."
Pride, thinking too highly of ourselves, almost always comes by comparing ourselves to others. When we do this, we are often responding to a poor self-image, one that needs to lift ourselves up over another to make ourselves feel good. A proper self-image will look at ourselves and every other person as worthy and valuable. We will be secure in our sense of value and not need to elevate ourselves. It is this unhealthy tendency to compare and elevate ourselves that reflects our lack of worth.
The antidote to pride is to value and affirm others. For example, Philippians 2:3 says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves." First Thessalonians 5:11 adds, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up" (NIV). When we recognize our value, belovedness, and worthiness—neither more nor less than anyone else's—we avoid the thinking too highly of ourselves.