We must guard ourselves against the sin of arrogance. The wise man warned, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18). Paul admonished the saints in Rome, “Everyone among you [is] not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think” (Romans 12:3). James said, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
While it is necessary that we keep from thinking too much of ourselves, we must also keep from thinking too little about ourselves. There is a balance. Thinking too little of ourselves can also lead to sin. If we think that our lives do not matter, we may be reckless in our actions and transgress God’s law. If we think that no one pays attention to us and we will, therefore, not be accountable to others, it becomes easier to flirt with sin. If our self-esteem is dependent upon what others think of us, we will act in such a way as to find approval from others, even if it means committing sin.
Therefore, we must have an appropriate sense of self-worth. Thinking too much of ourselves leads to sin. Thinking too little of ourselves also leads to sin. We need to find the proper balance.
Humility is one of the fundamental characteristics of a Christian (Matthew 5:3; Philippians 2:3). However, humility is not achieved by thinking negatively about ourselves. To be humble is to think correctly about ourselves according to God’s perception of us.
So how does God see us?
- We have been made in His image – “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). Being made in the image of God means we are special. Each one of us is valuable.
- God does not show partiality – “Opening his mouth, Peter said: ‘I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34-35). It is sometimes easy to get depressed when we are not treated as well as others. While others may not think that we are all that important, God does. Our value to Him is the same as the value of anyone else.
- God sent His Son to die for us – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). One does not need to be a parent to know how difficult it would be to watch one of your children suffer. Yet God allowed Jesus to suffer a terrible death on the cross. He gave Him to die for each one of us.
- God wants us to be saved – “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God does not just have a mild interest in our lives while we are here on the earth. He wants us to be with Him in heaven for eternity.
At times we may think that our lives do not matter or that no one is concerned about us and what we do here. But we must keep things in perspective. God loves each one of us and wants us to be saved. We must not reject that salvation by failing to obey Him because we allow ourselves to be hindered by self-pity. We will have plenty of time for self-pity when this life is over if we do not follow the Lord. Instead of wasting time feeling sorry for ourselves, let us be busy serving God and preparing to meet the Lord when He returns.
