There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12
I have never had a good image of myself. The way that I have thought of myself has always been tainted by what others have thought of me, or said about me. I never considered what God thought about me or how God sees me. Before I go any further let me say that this is not an “I’m ok, you’re ok” kind of study, nor is it a poor pitiful me kind of study. It is, however, a biblical way of thinking of ourselves and of how we see others.
The lack of a correct biblical self image leads to an idolatry of self. Whether one sees oneself as “wow, I’m the greatest” or as “poor pitiful me” self is on the throne and everything is about “me”. Depression and self loathing or self worship becomes a comfortable blanket that we wrap ourselves in. In the end self loathing or self worship amount to the same thing, pride. A person who is a slave to self has a relentless task master; one who cannot be satisfied, and who is beholden to the law of diminishing returns. Put simply, the law of diminishing returns is “the more you get, more you want.” A Christian who serves self instead of God builds an idol of “me” and sacrifices to that idol. As time goes by family and friends are sacrificed to that idol of self resulting in destruction of relationships and alienation. This does not happen in a vacuum though. God applies His corrective discipline to his children. Sometimes this results in the child of God returning; other times, though, the idol of self blinds the child under Devine discipline and that person is not capable of recognizing the discipline that they are under. Because of this God has to administer the ultimate punishment upon that child; that being the sin unto death.
It is the intention of this study to provide a biblical basis for not only how we see ourselves but how we see others and to provide a guide to help us come out of ourselves. This is not intended to be a study of spiritual self esteem, although it will touch on that subject. And a correct Godly self image will result in the building of spiritual self esteem.
