Caring About What Others Think

[Traze77]

I've lived with treatment resistant depression almost all my life therefore I have very low self esteem. This has led me to care about other peoples opinions, even more than God's. Just wanted to hear others perspective on this. Is this a sin or dangerous? How do I overcome it?

 

[mama2one]

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[seeking.IAM]

My mom used to tell me, "The only ones you have to please are God and the person you see in the mirror."

We can worry so much about what other people think of us, but in truth they're not nearly as focused on us as we fear they are. We walk into a room, see others, and wonder what they are thinking about us. What they are really thinking is, "I wonder what they'll be serving for lunch?"

 

[timf]

Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Luk 7:32 They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.

We want to be sensitive to the opinions of others such that we do not cause offense up to a point. No one usually wants people to be angry with them. However, God gave us our lives to live for his glory not to be used to make others feel good.

We are told not to think too highly of ourselves. I think we might also apply this as to not think too lowly of ourselves. Being a Christian is to walk in truth.

If we try to capture the good opinion of others, we risk being led to practice theater which the bible calls hypocrisy. It is better to walk in truth and let the opinions of others form as they may.

As far as depression goes, you may want to experiment with SAMe which is available in the US over the counter but is by prescription for depression in Europe.

 

[tturt]

Dangerous because no one can please others perfectly. In fact, sometimes they're not happy with themselves but happy to tell you how you need to be.

Encourage you to chose God's opinion - even over your own if needed.

 

[AnglicanPeace]

Joel Osteen said regardless of who you are 25% of people will love you unconditionally, 25% of people will dislike you regardless of what you do, 25% of people will like you if you do X, and 25% of people will like you if you do Y. That means if you're X, 50% of people will dislike you and 50% of people will like you. If you're Y, 50% of people will dislike you and 50% of people will like you.

You're darned if you do, darned if you don't. But you're also blessed if you do, blessed if you don't.

Everyone gets disrespected. The Queen of England gets disrespected. But everyone gets respect. Drug dealers get respect.

So be yourself.

 

[Daniel and the Lions]

I've lived with treatment resistant depression almost all my life therefore I have very low self esteem. This has led me to care about other peoples opinions, even more than God's. Just wanted to hear others perspective on this. Is this a sin or dangerous? How do I overcome it?

One thing you should consider carefully is what started the depression for you. Medications are supposed to help you cope with depression, not treat it. In my case, I have been on medications ever since I know myself, and since no one knew about the medications I was taking, they thought that passivity was part of my nature, when in fact it was a result of the medications I was taking. But if medications are not the primary cause of your depression, maybe certain events in your life—you should know better what—caused the depression in your life. My advice is to seek the advice of people you trust and know that they can help in certain aspects which need to be resolved in your life. Start talking about issues which are still unresolved, then about current issues and anything that comes out of these discussions. Long story short, you should consider other people’s opinion when it comes to what you share in common with them and to help you find solutions to dealing with problems, but no one should tell you who you are. On that, you should be the expert. And don’t forget to read the Word of God to see what it says about everything that concerns you and about who you are.

 

[Kenny Benson]

I also have low self-esteem and am very preoccupied with what what other people think about me (and my marriage to a much older woman). My root cause is autism, not depression. There is no cure for my autism. I don't think there is a cure for your depression. However, problematic symptoms for both illnesses can be treated with medication. And like someone else on this thread said, that's when you look to find out why you are depressed and try to work on it.

Worrying about what others think about you can be overcome by accepting yourself, which is easier said than done. But prayer is good for this, because you are praying for a change in yourself which is more possible than praying for a change in others. Like I said, its easier said and done, but that looks like the correct path.

 

[Waymarker]

I've lived with treatment resistant depression almost all my life therefore I have very low self esteem. This has led me to care about other peoples opinions, even more than God's. Just wanted to hear others perspective on this. Is this a sin or dangerous? How do I overcome it?

My late father raised me to think I was worthless and naturally it affected me, but when i reached my early teens I realised that he was simply a poor dad, and from that instant I paid him no heed and began improving, and at around that time I began to become a Christian and am now one of the strongest people I know..