Better Than Birds
Saturday, October 7, 2023
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matt. 6:26, NIV.
I have a friend who helps school kids gain the skills they need to live and grow up in our drug-infested society without becoming dependent on drugs. Much of what she does has to do with building the child’s feelings of personal value.
The dearth of self-esteem among us is a major contributing factor to destructive lifestyles and inflated medical care costs. In an effort to change the present course of society, a flood of books and theories attempt to promote and develop self-esteem.
Where does one find self-esteem? Sometimes our youth are encouraged to give themselves pep talks, expounding their own worth. At other times students seek it in scholastic achievement. Many schools use sports in their effort to help the kids. Later, self-esteem comes from a “successful” job or career, or is sought in promotions and bonuses. In the home its absence often shows up as jealousy, sensitivity, or controlling and manipulation.
Human self-esteem sounds good. The theory is rational. But such esteem has no lasting value, no real benefit to the achiever. Like the grass of the field, it may flourish for a moment, but in the end it often fades into disappointment and despair.
Jesus’ sermon on the mountainside provides the only real source of self-esteem. It covers all of the bases for meeting our deepest heart longings and personal needs. He says to look at the birds. See the flowers. Study God’s activity in nature and note His love for you there. Check out His providential guidance in your life. Watch for answered prayers. Love your neighbor as yourself. And store up your treasure in heaven (see Matt. 5-7).
True self-esteem comes from finding your place in the cycle of love that governs all of God’s universe. As we receive the benefits of life, gratefully acknowledge their source, and then add our own unique touch and pass them on in service to others, feelings of value will be a natural by-product.
If you’d like to boost your feelings of value, read Matthew 5 through 7, write down at least three suggestions Jesus makes that you can put into practice, and then just do them!
I have a friend who helps school kids gain the skills they need to live and grow up in our drug-infested society without becoming dependent on drugs. Much of what she does has to do with building the child’s feelings of personal value.
The dearth of self-esteem among us is a major contributing factor to destructive lifestyles and inflated medical care costs. In an effort to change the present course of society, a flood of books and theories attempt to promote and develop self-esteem.
Where does one find self-esteem? Sometimes our youth are encouraged to give themselves pep talks, expounding their own worth. At other times students seek it in scholastic achievement. Many schools use sports in their effort to help the kids. Later, self-esteem comes from a “successful” job or career, or is sought in promotions and bonuses. In the home its absence often shows up as jealousy, sensitivity, or controlling and manipulation.
Human self-esteem sounds good. The theory is rational. But such esteem has no lasting value, no real benefit to the achiever. Like the grass of the field, it may flourish for a moment, but in the end it often fades into disappointment and despair.
Jesus’ sermon on the mountainside provides the only real source of self-esteem. It covers all of the bases for meeting our deepest heart longings and personal needs. He says to look at the birds. See the flowers. Study God’s activity in nature and note His love for you there. Check out His providential guidance in your life. Watch for answered prayers. Love your neighbor as yourself. And store up your treasure in heaven (see Matt. 5-7).
True self-esteem comes from finding your place in the cycle of love that governs all of God’s universe. As we receive the benefits of life, gratefully acknowledge their source, and then add our own unique touch and pass them on in service to others, feelings of value will be a natural by-product.
If you’d like to boost your feelings of value, read Matthew 5 through 7, write down at least three suggestions Jesus makes that you can put into practice, and then just do them!
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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