There’s nothing worse than being duped. Conned. Swindled. Misled.
Deceived.
Yet that’s what has happened to so many of us on the issue of our body image. We’ve been told that if we had more self-esteem, then . . . then . . .we would feel like a bunch of hotties–like all the time. It’s our dag gum low self-esteem that’s dragging us down.
Or so they say. . .
If you missed the first post in this series, you can catch up here on why self-esteem is a total con and doesn’t really help us, at all!
Instead of re-hashing what’s wrong with self-esteem, I want to offer us a replacement. It’s not a “thing” yet. You may have never even heard this term before. But, follow me here.
Instead of self-esteem, we need Christ-esteem.
Let me show you how it works:
How to find confidence . . .
Self-esteem teaches us to look in the mirror and love what we see. It teaches us a confidence that is rooted in our own value and inherent awesomeness.
But Christ-esteem teaches us to look to Jesus as the only example of human perfection. Christ-esteem teaches us to root our value in the incredible love and sacrifice of Jesus. His awesomeness gives us great value.
How to love our bodies . . .
Self-esteem preaches we need to love our bodies. We’ll find freedom when we love whatever we’ve got–no matter what it looks like. (I wrote more fully about the fallacies of this here.)
But Christ-esteem teaches us to love JESUS no matter what “we’ve got.” It teaches us to be satisfied at all times because HE is the source of our satisfaction–not another five pounds lost, not firmer abs, not a prettier reflection in the mirror. Christ-esteem gives us freedom because we no longer have to stare in the mirror until we like what we see. We only have to stare up, at Him, knowing our main job here is to reflect His beauty!
How to live a satisfied life . . .
Self-esteem preaches whatever makes you feel good, that’s what you should do.
Christ-esteem teaches that whatever brings glory to God, that’s what you should pursue. Your heart will deceive you, but God’s word will make your path straight.
There is incredible freedom found when we take the pressure off of ourselves to be awesome.
What do you think?
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