“Christ esteem and God confidence” vs “self esteem and self confidence” Personal Effects from "The Way of Agape" 503s - 11 - 4

With thanks to Nancy and het book "The Way of Agape", four steps in building a healthy identity/ healthy self-image:

1) Knowing and believing that God loves us unconditionally.

2) If we know and accept that God loves us, then we’ll have the confidence and trust to lay down our wills and our lives to Him and love Him in return.

3) Since we are loving Him, becoming open and cleansed vessels, God’s Life can come forth from our hearts and be made manifest through our lives

4) Because God’s Life is coming forth from us, we will begin to like (storge) who we are, what we say, and what we do.

Christ esteem:

Christ esteem/ Liking self with God’s Love and Wisdom enabling us to like ourselves.

Self-esteem:

Self-esteem. Liking what we say, what we do, and how we do it.

I remember in college studying "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." This link has very insightful information:

https://d3jc3ahdjad7x7.cloudfront.net/rx9Wb7OU8R83rfYAdYUsKScg85FnHrnW2qPSvPSLbO9Ugo4R.pdf

Maslow theorized that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fulfill the next one, and so on. His hierarchy of needs are usually depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. Lowest on the pyramid is psychological needs followed by safety. As one works up the scale in theory they achieve self-actualization. While this is all good information, in my opinion, left out in this equation is the primary component, God.

Maslow's work goes back to the 1940s. Each generation seems to become more self-centered and self-absorbed. While self-esteem is very important it's become somewhat of an altar at which many worship.

God-confidence:

I agree with Nancy that “God-confidence and proper self-liking come only from being what God meant us to be: open vessels receiving His Love for ourselves and then passing it on to others. Loving them rather than ourselves.”

With thanks to Wiktionary, Self-confidence:

The state of being self-confident

A measure of one's belief in one's own abilities

So once again the main component is left out, God.

Any identity changed, as a result of this course:

My sense of identity has not really changed as a result of this course. Perhaps if I don’t know my own identity at 73 it truly is too late for me. What is been very changing to my sense of identity of late has been watching and helping to care for my 102 year old mother as her life seems to be ebbing away. Always a very strong woman, I’m still amazed at her tenacity and reluctance to leave. Perhaps at some level she is waiting for Christmas, in any event it’s all in God’s timing. I’ll miss her very much in this world but will eventually spend an eternity with mom in our new and blessed home with God.