Some thoughts on how to battle negative ideas of self-worth

We live in a time in history where it could be easy to fill our time up by comparing ourselves to others. We no longer live in a consumer culture. We are all publishers. We all have the ability at our fingertips to blog our opinions. We have access and ability to create videos, splice songs into the feed, and much, much more. We who are parents must remind our children that people have a right to their own opinions and people have the power to rate our self-worth only if we allow them to. The effect that instagram has on girls ages 11-14 alone is astonishing. The suicidal tendancy rate among that age group has sky-rocketed and experts say Instagram has a lot to do with those stats.

We must remind our children of their value.

When our kids were little, Heidi and I praticed a little exercise we learned from Dr. James Dobson off of his radio show “Focus on the Family.” It was called; “Ten positives to correct one negative.” Every night when the girls got home from school, we would spend time trading phrases of encouragement. I would hug them individually and pray, “Thank you Jesus for this kid!” We would tell them both they are smart and beautiful. We would tell them we were proud of them not because of their accomplishments. We would tell them we were proud of them because they are girls of good character and intergrity. We would tell them they are kind, thoughtful and grateful. The 10 positive statements would drown out the nay-sayers. They believed us and our value of them more than what others had to say.

What we experienced as they grew older was that our convictions became their convictions. We did not force them to go to church. Both Hannah and Abigail wanted to be in the house of the Lord. More importantly than them believing us and our value of them over the nay-sayers, they believed God and according to His scripture they realized how much God loved them both.

Allow me to talk to you adults who are reading this. You too deal with your own self-worth issues. Especially in the church, we fight ourselves thinking we are not good enough. Not good enough as a spouse. Not good enough as a parent, and especially many battle not being a good enough Christian. We constantly strive to improve and yet we still can’t get to the point we are striving for. We are striving for perfection yet we will never reach it because we are our own worst enemies. We always think we can do better and be better.

Luke Chapter 7 is an incredible chapter. Jesus is healing people left and right! John the Baptist is in prison. John asks some of his followers to go to Jesus and ask if Jesus is the Messiah, or should they wait for someone else? Jesus told them to go tell John what they had seen and heard. The blind were able to see. The lame can walk. Those with leprosy were being heald. The deaf had received the ability to hear, The dead were being raised to life, and in Luke 7:22, he saved the best for last, the poor had heard the good news.

How do I know Jesus cherished the poor in spirit hearing the good news more than the other signs and wonders? The rest of the chapter is Jesus ministering to the poor in sprit. The Grand Finale would be the woman who gets set free who is washing Jesus’ feet with her tears and her hair. Jesus sets her free in verse 50. “But Jesus told the woman, ‘Because of your faith, you are now saved.’” I took this verse out of the New Century Version. (Children’s Bible with a 3rd Grade reading level) The Greek word here could either mean saved or healed. Most likely this woman here in chapter 7 is probably Mary Magdalene who appears in scripture for the first time in Luke Chapter 8 as one of the women that traveled with the disciples who had been healed of evil spirits and all sorts of diseases.

Luke 7:28 is the kicker though! After he talks to Johns disciples, he begins to talk about the greatness of John the Baptist but it is in verse 28 that he sets free those of us who have a lack of self-worth or are insecure about ourselves and how we relate to the things of God. Luke 7:28 (and I am still in the NCV) says: “No one ever born on this earth is greater than John. But whoever is least important in God’s kingdom is greater than John.”

My question is this; who declares us as least important in God’s Kingdom? It is ourselves! We think we are less important than everyone else, yet Jesus sees us as the greatest, even greater than John the Baptist. We see ourselves as ineffective and unimportant and yet God sees us as great.

Do not be concerned with comparing yourselves to the accomplishments of others. Keep your focus on pursuing Jesus. May God bless you and your family and may you all have a wonderful week.

Dave Truncone is the pastor of First Assembly of God Church in Van Buren. He is married to Heidi and they have two daughters, Hannah, and Abigail. They live in Van Buren.