Day 4 - Week 55 - Ephesians 5:21 "Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."

Humility doesn't go around groveling in the dirt and saying, "I'm an idiot.  I'm no good.  I'm cheap.  I'm worthless."  After all, we're the climax and crown of His creative genius, made in His image. We're worth more than many sparrows; we're worth so much Christ died for us.  We're heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ.  Humility isn't a matter of saying, "I'm worthless!"  It's saying, "He is worthy!" - Robert J. Morgan

Over the past 30+ years, our education system has put great emphasis on building self-esteem in our children.  Sometimes, I think this goal has overridden some other very worthy goals of education.  We were told that our children need immense praise and very little criticism.  I think while there is merit to a degree of that psychological philosophy, I also think we can go overboard and develop a semi-narcissistic society...which is exactly what seems to have happened.  But the ironic thing is, true self-esteem is still missing...there is a false bravado of worthiness, while many still feel very worthless.  Because we are told that we "deserve" everything, we chase after everything, finding that nothing brings us a feeling of true value.

Robert J. Morgan hits the nail on the head when it comes to how we should view our worth.  We are valued and valuable because we are God's ultimate work of creation made in His image.  That is where we find our worthiness.  And once we come to that realization, then we can view ourselves in the manner that we should.  We were created to bring glory to our Creator.  There is great value in knowing that the Creator of the universe takes delight in us...in fact, can it get any better than that?  Can anything in this world bring that kind of self-fulfillment or satisfaction? 

When we realize the value that we have, and the joy we bring to God, then we can be confident in taking on any task that He brings our way.  We don't have to worry about lowering ourselves into a position that we think may make us look less valuable...because we know when we do just that, we are fulfilling the purpose for which we were designed.