How low self-esteem can lead to sin

[Godlovesmetwo]

Sorry Waholka but that sub-forum is "not for me" shall we say.

That's a question worth considering.
Because low-esteem can be the source of several sins I think.
One I am thinking of right now is envy. One of the deadly seven.
And most of us have compared ourselves to others to varying degrees.
Currently I envy those with a good TV screen. Mine is pre plasma and only about 30 cm diameter. I'd like a home entertainment system.
Envying other peoples' talent is another classic. I really envy that booming voice, full of confidence giving a great speech or just commenting on TV.
Low self-esteem also leads us to making bad choices. Like choosing false Gods to make ourselves look more appealing to others. Getting drunk is a fool's way of getting fake confidence and losing inhibitions and escaping anxiety.
So I'd say low self-esteem ,address it asap. The Christian solution I mean, is the best.

 

[derpytia]

See, I wouldn't necessarily say that it's a sin. For some people like me with mental disorders and extremely heavy burdens in life, it's certainly not our fault that we have low self-esteem. It's more of a symptom than a sin and I do not believe depression is a sin. But I know there are those who disagree but I don't wanna touch on that debate right now.

Low self-esteem actually pushes me to rely on God more because I certainly can't rely on myself and God's the only one who can possibly love me despite all my failures and faults. I've been trying to be positive about myself for years but my depression and various physical ailments prevent me from getting very far for very long. And my depression and ailments are not my fault. I didn't sin so badly that I ended up with them. Repentance and God's forgiveness are beautiful things to hope in when we beat ourselves up all the time for sinning and doing what is wrong. Adding guilt for not liking yourself adds too much of a burden. If you look at the reality of our sin, nobody should really be liking themselves. Take a good look in the mirror and you'll see a sinful human being incapable of doing the right thing on their own. That is why God's grace is so important.

I think the real solution here is to take that low self-esteem and give it to God and lean on Him instead. Trust Him to love you when you can't even love yourself. Trust Him to lead you in the right directly when you can't even be confident in your own ability to do so. Sometimes I am incapable of having one good thought about myself. But even then God loves me. Sometimes that really does make a huge difference in what can seem to be a losing battle.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

See, I wouldn't necessarily say that it's a sin. For some people like me with mental disorders and extremely heavy burdens in life, it's certainly not our fault that we have low self-esteem. It's more of a symptom than a sin and I do not believe depression is a sin. But I know there are those who disagree but I don't wanna touch on that debate right now.

Low self-esteem actually pushes me to rely on God more because I certainly can't rely on myself and God's the only one who can possibly love me despite all my failures and faults. I've been trying to be positive about myself for years but my depression and various physical ailments prevent me from getting very far for very long. And my depression and ailments are not my fault. I didn't sin so badly that I ended up with them. Repentance and God's forgiveness are beautiful things to hope in when we beat ourselves up all the time for sinning and doing what is wrong. Adding guilt for not liking yourself adds too much of a burden. If you look at the reality of our sin, nobody should really be liking themselves. Take a good look in the mirror and you'll see a sinful human being incapable of doing the right thing on their own. That is why God's grace is so important.

I think the real solution here is to take that low self-esteem and give it to God and lean on Him instead. Trust Him to love you when you can't even love yourself. Trust Him to lead you in the right directly when you can't even be confident in your own ability to do so. Sometimes I am incapable of having one good thought about myself. But even then God loves me. Sometimes that really does make a huge difference in what can seem to be a losing battle.

don't worry no debate.
my title is misleading. I think it can be the source. You have wisely chosen to use it to your advantage in your relationship with God. Good insight. Thanks.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

I've changed the title now.

 

[Maria.V.H]

Sorry Waholka but that sub-forum is "not for me" shall we say.

That's a question worth considering.
Because low-esteem can be the source of several sins I think.
One I am thinking of right now is envy. One of the deadly seven.
And most of us have compared ourselves to others to varying degrees.
Currently I envy those with a good TV screen. Mine is pre plasma and only about 30 cm diameter. I'd like a home entertainment system.
Envying other peoples' talent is another classic. I really envy that booming voice, full of confidence giving a great speech or just commenting on TV.
Low self-esteem also leads us to making bad choices. Like choosing false Gods to make ourselves look more appealing to others. Getting drunk is a fool's way of getting fake confidence and losing inhibitions and escaping anxiety.
So I'd say low self-esteem ,address it asap. The Christian solution I mean, is the best.

I think it´s the other way around, more selfesteem leads to more sin in most cases but not always.. I think the only way getting closer to God and understanding humanity and what we believe in is denying ourselves, rejecting our ego so we can focus on others. I don´t know why i feel that if we focus on ourselves we can´t focus on others, maybe it´s because i have never seen people being able to juggle that, either they have too much selfesteem and don´t care about others or they have no selfesteem and hate themselves, something in the middle would be prefered. A high selfesteem can quickly go the wrong way so can low self esteem, but i feel that those with low selfesteem only hurt themselves, they don´t hurt others, those with high selfesteem can hurt others with their ego...

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

I think it´s the other way around, more selfesteem leads to more sin in most cases but not always.. I think the only way getting closer to God and understanding humanity and what we believe in is denying ourselves, rejecting our ego so we can focus on others. I don´t know why i feel that if we focus on ourselves we can´t focus on others, maybe it´s because i have never seen people being able to juggle that, either they have too much selfesteem and don´t care about others or they have no selfesteem and hate themselves, something in the middle would be prefered. A high selfesteem can quickly go the wrong way so can low self esteem, but i feel that those with low selfesteem only hurt themselves, they don´t hurt others, those with high selfesteem can hurt others with their ego...

guess I'm hard on low self-esteem people because I identify with such a group myself
I think I could've been more useful to God, myself and others if I had higher self-esteem.

 

[Maria.V.H]

I´m proud to be in that group, i see nothing wrong with it, unless we become overly depressed. i like being an underdog it keeps me in check i feel, it keeps me grounded. You have wisdom others don´t have because of that, i don´t think you would be you if you were in the other category...

 

[Quasiblogo]

It blew me away when I lived in a Latin country where people in general were assertive and being introverted a perceived sign of self-centeredness. I think I got through it by embracing the culture, becoming more outgoing where I could, and thanking God for my unique traits, quirks and need of Him. . Painful at times, because it sometimes felt phoney. I was able to press the envelope because I saw that certain tweaks caused blessings for others, and breakthroughs in my own life.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

I´m proud to be in that group, i see nothing wrong with it, unless we become overly depressed. i like being an underdog it keeps me in check i feel, it keeps me grounded. You have wisdom others don´t have because of that, i don´t think you would be you if you were in the other category...

You've definitely got good insight. My impression was that your self-esteem is healthier than mine.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

Healthy self-esteem is what we need to aim for IMHO.
Low self-esteem people can be overly sensitive or too pessimistic or like complaining. Self-description here btw

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

and being introverted a perceived sign of self-centeredness.

I would hate that. Best to go to European countries where they love Woody Allen's introspective hypochondria and obsessive anxiety. That would suit me too.

 

[SkyWriting]

Currently I envy those with a good TV screen. Mine is pre plasma and only about 30 cm diameter. I'd like a home entertainment system.
Envying other peoples' talent is another classic. I really envy that booming voice, full of confidence giving a great speech or just commenting on TV.
Low self-esteem also leads us to making bad choices. Like choosing false Gods to make ourselves look more appealing to others. Getting drunk is a fool's way of getting fake confidence and losing inhibitions and escaping anxiety.

Currently all large screens are suspect. There are none currently under $1000 that accept outside video sources well. Like if your source is a cable box, the screen will be fuzzy. A recent review only gave high marks to a projection TV box about half that price.

I highly recommend looking for an old flatscreen CRT. People in apartments practically give them away. I got one in my bedroom, it weighs a ton, but was $30 including a converter box.

 

[Dave-W]

Because low-esteem can be the source of several sins I think.

Actually, several of the churches I attended before age 25 considered positive self esteem to be sinful in and of itself: the sin of pride. The one I attended in college had a constant stream of people being delivered of demons of "self love."

 

[JCFantasy23]

Sorry Waholka but that sub-forum is "not for me" shall we say.

That's a question worth considering.
Because low-esteem can be the source of several sins I think.
One I am thinking of right now is envy. One of the deadly seven.
And most of us have compared ourselves to others to varying degrees.
Currently I envy those with a good TV screen. Mine is pre plasma and only about 30 cm diameter. I'd like a home entertainment system.
Envying other peoples' talent is another classic. I really envy that booming voice, full of confidence giving a great speech or just commenting on TV.
Low self-esteem also leads us to making bad choices. Like choosing false Gods to make ourselves look more appealing to others. Getting drunk is a fool's way of getting fake confidence and losing inhibitions and escaping anxiety.
So I'd say low self-esteem ,address it asap. The Christian solution I mean, is the best.

Low self-esteem also creates an inner desperation and vulnerability. The desperation can make a person fall into temptation easier because they need to fill voids, especially with things regarding sexual temptation, peer pressure, and make the person more vulnerable to human predators, users and manipulators. This all can create a downward spiral of sin that worsens with more angst/hurt/damage to the person, especially when they become hurt by the people they desperately reached out to.

With lower self-esteem, self-assurance, reliance on God and the ability to heal emotionally can be slowed or hindered. It is harder to see self-value and self-worth.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

Low self-esteem also creates an inner desperation and vulnerability. The desperation can make a person fall into temptation easier because they need to fill voids, especially with things regarding sexual temptation, peer pressure, and make the person more vulnerable to human predators, users and manipulators. This all can create a downward spiral of sin that worsens with more angst/hurt/damage to the person, especially when they become hurt by the people they desperately reached out to.

With lower self-esteem, self-assurance, reliance on God and the ability to heal emotionally can be slowed or hindered. It is harder to see self-value and self-worth.

Good post. Some people are confusing healthy self-esteem with pride. And of course "pride" is the devils domain in Christianity.
And as you say a low self-esteem person is less likely to believe God truly loves them. Their faith will be riddled with too much doubt.

 

[JCFantasy23]

Actually, several of the churches I attended before age 25 considered positive self esteem to be sinful in and of itself: the sin of pride. The one I attended in college had a constant stream of people being delivered of demons of "self love."

To be fair, I think there's a confusion people have with self-esteem and ego. You can have a healthy self-esteem without having an ego. An ego is pride filled and unhealthy. Healthy self-esteem is knowing you are worth as much as the next person, do not deserve abuse, have the confidence to look people in the eyes when you're speaking to them, and not feeling depressed/suicide. Ego is not the same thing, because ego breeds pride and arrogance.

 

[JCFantasy23]

Good post. Some people are confusing healthy self-esteem with pride. And of course "pride" is the devils domain in Christianity.

Looks like we were posting something similar at the same time

And as you say a low self-esteem person is less likely to believe God truly loves them. Their faith will be riddled with too much doubt.

Very true because the worse the self-esteem falls, the higher the chance of self-hatred. Once that sets in, it's hard to find the same motivation and viewpoint to keep growing, spiritually and in other ways.

 

[Dave-W]

To be fair, I think there's a confusion people have with self-esteem and ego. You can have a healthy self-esteem without having an ego. An ego is pride filled and unhealthy. Healthy self-esteem is knowing you are worth as much as the next person, do not deserve abuse, have the confidence to look people in the eyes when you're speaking to them, and not feeling depressed/suicide. Ego is not the same thing, because ego breeds pride and arrogance.

Interesting. The founding pastor had been a Psych professor (adjunct) before coming to faith. If what you are saying is true he should have known better. But he was the one who insisted that self esteem and arrogance were equal.

He constantly preached on how "the best of what you DESERVE is hell." One of his favorite scriptures was this:

Luke 17.9 He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10 So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”

 

[Dave-W]

Very true because the worse the self-esteem falls, the higher the chance of self-hatred. Once that sets in, it's hard to find the same motivation and viewpoint to keep growing, spiritually and in other ways.

I saw that in operation there. In fact, self-hatred was almost considered a virtue:

Luke 14:26 If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

John 12:25 He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.

Over the last 30 years I have come to see that these passages were taken out of context (at least to some degree); but I still struggle with that.

 

[JCFantasy23]

Interesting. The founding pastor had been a Psych professor (adjunct) before coming to faith. If what you are saying is true he should have known better. But he was the one who insisted that self esteem and arrogance were equal.

He constantly preached on how "the best of what you DESERVE is hell." One of his favorite scriptures was this:

Luke 17.9 He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10 So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”

We may be approaching it differently. I can't agree with the pastor on the issue because I think low self-esteem is dangerous for our emotional, spiritual and perhaps physical development and not what God wants for His children. It is a stumbling block in the progress of us becoming who God wants us to be because low self-esteem can deteriorate a person.

As for the best of what we deserve being hell, that's a bit different than what I'm referring to -- it's a statement said by many Christians and he is right we are saved by grace and mercy by God since we are sinful beings.