Sermon for 09/09/07

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Sermon for 09/09/07
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CHRIST ESTEEM: God, Is There A Problem With Self-Esteem?

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN

Main Theme: This is the first in a series that explores a movement in modern psychology that is infiltrating the church: the concept of self-esteem. Today I hope to help Christians begin to see that there is a huge clash between the self-esteem movement and the Biblical view. We’ll explore the amazing claims of Self-esteem proponents, and see how it is infiltrating the Christian church. Then we will ask if it is compatible with Christian theology, and discover it is not. We’ll study the evolution of the Self-esteem movement, and compare it with the Word of God. Its impact on modern society means it cannot be ignored by the church. But we will see that the Word calls us to deny “self”, not to focus on and inflate our opinion of ourselves. Both low and high self-esteem are stumbling blocks to Christ living within us! All we need or ever will need is found in Christ!

1) SELF-ESTEEM? This morning I’d like to explore some words in our present day vocabulary that we accept and use on a regular basis; Self-esteem, Self-love, Self-worth, and Self-image. Modern psychology suggests we are to seek positive forms of these words, and the enemy of all of these terms is something called “LOW” SELF-ESTEEM! So, let me ask: How many of you have discussed your children, grandchildren, fellow students, or co-workers, and either recognized or commented on their “low” or “high” self-esteem? Though new, the concept of self-esteem has so permeated our society today, that it appears to be a most familiar and acceptable way of thinking. But have you ever wondered if it should be? …or whether the concept is Biblical? And how should Christians relate to it? Are the self-esteem movement’s claims true-false, good-bad, harmless-dangerous?

2) THE SECRET TO LIFE? What is interesting to note, is that when modern day psychology introduced the concept in the last century, it created very little public controversy. Liberals, conservatives, atheists and Christians have ALL gotten caught up in the self-esteem movement. In my research, I discovered schools throughout the country are spending millions on helping children recognize their “self-worth”. California has been considering setting up a commission to study self-esteem (to the tune of 750,000 dollars a year) hoping to reduce crime by raising the self-esteem of otherwise potential criminal types. I even ran across a Christian writer who declared in his book, “I contend that this unfulfilled need for self-esteem underlies every act.” Wow! That’s quite a claim. If it is true, then proper self-esteem is the secret to life and most of its problems. Is it the secret to life?

3) LIFE AND DEATH? We read about self-esteem everywhere! Ladies Home Journal advises us – “Take positive steps to enhance… your self-esteem”. This advice is found both outside AND inside the church. An author from a fundamentalist school declared, “The most basic psychological need of the baby in the womb is to have a mother who has a positive self-concept or self-esteem.” In the abortion debate, another writes, “Mothers who choose to obtain abortions do so because of too little self-esteem…”. Is self-esteem really so important that it’s a matter of “life and death”? A recent “Christian School and Home” article asserts that “The basic psychological cause of any suicide is… loss of hope, of love, or… self-esteem”. Even our beloved Christian radio psychologist, Dr. James Dobson agrees, “…lack of self-esteem can actually extinguish the desire to go on living!” If this is true, if self-esteem is a matter of life and death, then think how important self-esteem should be to the church!

4) RIGHT? Obvious this movement cannot be ignored! Psychologists tell us “Parents should handle disciplinary problems in such a way as not to damage a child’s positive self-image.” …and this theme is echoed and re-echoed throughout today’s literature. We’re told our children’s self-esteem is all-important! Wow! A heavy burden has been placed on parents shoulders to build positive self-esteem in our children. If this way of thinking is right, and if it is our God-given task to convey a sense of self-worth to children, then we have a much larger job on our hands in bringing up children than our parents ever envisioned when they raised us. Right? Yeh, if life and death, joy and suicide, fulfillment in life and abortion are the things that hang in the balance, then we MUST buy into this new teaching! Right?

5) CHANGE WORSHIP/PREACHING? Recently a seminary professor who is a staunch advocate of the self-worth movement declared we should make major changes in our worship and preaching. He applauded the fact that the song “Beneath The Cross of Jesus” in his hymnal has had the phrase “my own worthlessness” changed to “and my unworthiness”. Why? Because saying we are “worthless” is bad for our self-esteem. He also criticized Isaac Watt’s famous hymn “Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed?” when it speaks of “such a worm as I”, saying it could “convey to many people a quite unflattering self-image.” Of course, the classic hymn writers might ask, “Since when does the Bible indicate that God is in the business of flattering sinners?” And yet, there are modern Christian songs that have begin to carry the self-esteem message. Remember “They’ll Know We Are Christians”? Verse 3 says “…and we’ll guard each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride.” Do you think those words would have been penned by the author who wrote “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” containing the words “and pour contempt on all my pride.” So what is it? Do we save each man’s pride, or pour contempt on pride? Why is the church talking out of both sides of it’s mouth! Do we need to change our worship and preaching?

6) NEW REFORMATION! Even Robert Schuller, a major proponent of the self-esteem movement, declares that we need a NEW REFORMATION! Martin Luther created a “reactionary movement” he says, that emphasized that men are sinners! He writes “Once a person believes he is an ‘unworthy sinner,’ it is doubtful if he can honestly accept the saving grace God offers in Christ.” He says the NEW REFORMATION will focus on the “sacred right of every person to self-esteem”. His explains - “If you want to know why Schuller smiles on television; if you want to know why I make people laugh once in a while, I’m giving them sounds and strokes, sounds and strokes (like you would a baby). It’s strategy. People who don’t trust need to be stroked. People are born with a negative self image. Because they do not trust, they cannot trust God.” There it is – the self-esteem movement screaming for a NEW REFORMATION in the church.

7) STROKES? Hmmm… people of All Saints – is that what you want and need – lots of strokes because of your low self-esteem? If what Schuller says it true, then everything in the church must change. Evangelism must change. We have to toss out our Lutheran theology, never pointing out to broken people they are sinners lest we bruise their self-esteem! And we must never talk of hell or the eternal consequences of rejecting the offer of salvation. No, we stroke people into the faith! Wow! Apparently the church has been doing it all wrong for 2000 years. And if Schuller is right, the self-esteem movement demands sweeping change in our theology! Thank God for the self-esteem movement for straightening us out!

8) JUST THE OPPOSITE! See, in my seminary days, we were taught just the opposite! We used to read authors who suggested “In all unbelief there are two things – a good opinion of self, and a bad opinion of God.” We must have been lead astray by those who declared “focus on ‘self’” as the enemy of faith! We were taught “The object of the Holy Spirit’s work, in convicting of sin, is to alter the sinner’s opinion of himself, and so reduce his estimate of his own character that he shall think of himself as God does…” Now I’m no genius, but it’s that just the opposite of what self-esteem advocates are saying! Earlier theologians believed that too much self-esteem hinders us from trusting God, and that until we are “humbled” and “dropped to our knees” to awaken to our “sinful ways”, we can never receive the blessings of salvation. They wrote books that spoke of “helping persons escape self-love” so they might “experience outgoing, altruistic love of brethren”. But self-esteem proponents say we need to stroke people and build up their opinion of themselves! Wow, it can’t be both ways! Either the old way must be replaced, or the new view rejected. Because the OLD REFORMATION is just the opposite of the so called NEW REFORMATION! What’s a Christian to do?

9) SCRIPTURES! Well, one thing’s for sure, we can’t ignore it – the self-esteem movement is already blowing through the church! We better find out if it is true or not! We can’t go both east AND west at the same time! But where do we begin? Well that should be obvious for Christians! The standard by which we evaluate all claims of truth is the Holy Scriptures! Today I’m taking a lot of time to set up the problem facing us, but in the weeks to come we are going to spend a lot more time exploring the scriptures to see how the “concept of self-esteem” holds up. And the really exciting thing is it is going to take us back to explore the fundamentals of the Christian faith – which is never a waste of a Christian’s time. If self-esteem is central to success in life, then the scriptures will reveal it. And if not, then we must discover what is central to faith and life!

10) SELF-ACTUALIZATION! Now let’s take a few minutes and check out the origins and teachings of self-love, self-worth, and self-esteem. I won’t bore you with the complete evolution of “modern psychology”, but there are couple of key people… like Abraham Maslow… a major shaper of the movement in America. He had studied Alfred Alder’s work who had came to the conclusion that a person may realize fulfillment and satisfaction ONLY when their needs for security and significance are met. He sold this idea under the title of “Self-actualization”. Maslow studied “successful” people and concluded that the most self-actualized people were those who first had their needs satisfied at lower levels. Unsuccessful people had not. In describing these lower needs he constructed a “Hierarchy of Needs”. (See power point chart) At the bottom of the “needs” pyramid are physical needs – food clothing, shelter. When those physical needs are met, one becomes focused on safety and security concerns. Only when these are met, does a person interest themselves in love and belongingness needs. IF those are taken care of then Maslow focuses on self-esteem. This, he concludes, is where most people get stuck in their rising to self-actualization.

11) SELF-LOVE? From a Christian’s perspective, if we buy into Maslow’s ideas, we can see that if a person is to succeed in following Jesus’ “Great Commandment” to Love God and Love others; this can only happen after they have had all their lower needs met first so that self-esteem is high. Then, and only then, equipped with a healthy dose of self-love, they can turn to focus on others! But notice all these earlier steps have been focused on the individual’s needs and not for the benefit of others. In fact, even the loving of God and others is simply to satisfy the needs of the one doing the loving! Wonder how “self-love” is compatible with AGAPE love – the biblical love that has us reach out to someone with no thought of ourselves! Be that as it may, you’ll notice Maslow’s premise is that unless one first gets their strokes, they cannot stroke another person. And whenever we stroke another person, we are in reality only stroking ourselves! The whole model is ego-centric! So as one Christian proponent of the self-esteem movement put it: “Self-love is thus the prerequisite and the criterion for our conduct towards our neighbor… without self-love there can be no love for others… you cannot love your neighbor, you cannot love God unless you first love yourself.”

12) OTHERS! Do you see the conclusions here: 1) Your own self-esteem needs must be met first before you are able to love others. And 2) The Great Commandment cannot be obeyed until we first love ourselves. One author states quite clearly “Without self-love there can be no love for others.” Of course that’s where we begin to notice a problem – because if this pyramid of needs is accurate, it means we cannot love until we have had all our lower needs met. And naturally 3) we cannot have our needs met unless others meet those needs. So that means 4) we can never have positive self-image apart from others. Meaning… if we don’t “feel good about ourselves”, it’s not our fault! Our low self-esteem all stems from the “failure of others” to meet our needs! Do you see the implications for theology: humanity cannot be held responsible to obey God’s commands to love Him or their neighbors if we did not first receive the proper strokes ourselves from others!

13) OFF THE HOOK! Halleluiah – we’re off the hook! “Lord, I can’t love you or others because my parents screwed up and didn’t meet all my lower needs and so I don’t have “high self-esteem” which is the prerequisite for being able to function as a faithful Christian! As soon as my parents or others get their act together and give me what I need to feel good about myself, I’ll be right with you!” Hmmm… Can anyone here open their Bibles to find any statements that seem to support this pyramid of ego-centric needs? Can anyone find ANY words in the Bible, that can be translated into “self-esteem”? Well, in terms of meeting needs, 1^st Timothy 6:8 mentions only the barest minimum for a Christian walk, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” But Timothy, that’s only the first rung on the pyramid of needs – what about the rest? You know what – let’s skip the disciples and go straight to the top – what does Jesus say? Are we off the hook to loving God and others if others did not provide for all our pyramid of needs?

14) JESUS AND HIS WORD! Well, do you remember when Jesus was at Mary and Martha’s house? Martha got all bent out of shape because Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet listening to His Word rather than helping prepare the meal. Martha protested, thinking that food was the major priority at that time. So Jesus addressed her and said, (Luke 10:42) “…but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." What? What did Mary chose? What is the only thing we really need? Yep! The One standing before Martha! The only thing we NEED is Jesus! The one essential need is to receive Him and believe His life-giving Word. What did Matthew tell us, (4:4) Jesus answered, "It is written: 'People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” You can try to put the blame on your parents or others for not meeting your needs if you want, but according to the scriptures, there is only one real need; it is the need for Jesus and His Word.

15) NEEDS? FIRST? In fact, Jesus addresses Maslow’s bottom rung on his “Hierarchy of Needs”, (which is food and clothing), when he says in Matthew 6 (31-33) “So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Pagans, Jesus says, seek security in “things” – things they think they need, but Jesus reverses it, saying “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” These so called “basic things” are not to be the primary concern of our lives. Jesus and His kingdom first – all other things are secondary. Apparently Jesus’ priorities differ from those in modern “self-worth needs” theory. IF the self-esteem movement declares the lower needs must be met first, before we love God and others, then is there any other choice but to reject it?

16) TAKE IN? GIVE OUT! When all our focus is spent on meeting or waiting for basic needs to be addressed, we get increasingly wrapped up in self! We become a slave to our own self-interests. We develop what one theologian says is “a consuming desire to take in from our world – to take in love, comfort, approval, protection, reassurance, adulation,” rather than to give out. Notice that what he mentioned resembles the needs list in Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” pyramid. And that indeed is what pagan thought emphasizes – taking in what YOU need! Christian thinking emphasizes giving out to God the love, honor, and service that He deserves, regardless of whether those other needs are being met or not.

17) CHRIST ESTEEM! Obviously, we’ve not even begun to uncover the tip of the iceberg called “self-esteem”. But we HAVE uncovered a clash between the self-esteem movement and the biblical perspective (that says “self” has to decrease so that Christ can increase). Yet, we’ve each looked in the mirror, rerun the tapes of our life, and concluded we either have low self-esteem or high self-esteem. So if seeking peace and joy through a positive self-image is wrong, then what SHOULD we focus on? In the weeks to come, we’ll clearly see that neither low nor high self-esteem are God’s will for our life! In fact, ANY self-esteem will stunt our spiritual growth! What you and I need, and what God longs to provide is CHRIST-ESTEEM!

18) FOCUS! In this series, we will take time to explore God’s Word, and painfully evaluate ourselves, as God sees us. WHAT we will see will be determined by our focus! Will we focus on “self” and be depressed by the reality of our sinful condition? Or will we focus instead on a righteous Christ, who through the cross joins us to Himself and lives in our hearts? See, when God now looks at you and me, Christ’s righteousness and perfection is all God sees! “Where” we focus is the key to finding joy, inner peace, and purpose! Our true “identity” is not found in looking internally, but looking up! To find life, true life, Jesus comes today to encourage and empower us that we may continue on a long journey of learning how to focus not on self, …but on Him, and Him alone! Praise God! AMEN!

Sermon/Confessional Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that we find ourselves engaged in a world consumed with self-image. We worry too much about things, and focus unceasingly upon our own needs. Lord, we confess we have sought peace, joy and purpose in chasing the concept of self-worth. We have been internally focused, instead of looking up - to set our hearts, minds, and souls on you! Forgive us, and come live within us and surround us in your love!

Lord, we confess that we are often more concerned about receiving strokes from others, than we are about facing the truth about our sinful condition. We forget that despite our lowliness and unworthiness, you chose to die for us, that we may be joined with you in Holy resurrection. Forgive us for not see ourselves as you see us – pure and righteous, because your Holy Son lives within us! Help us Lord to forget the illusion of self-esteem and seek out the divine gift of life-giving Christ-esteem.

And now Lord, although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be forgiven, washed clean, healed, and recommitted to you! (made anew.)

(Silence)

Lord, we are awed by your loving nature… and that you sacrificially poured yourself out for lost sheep like us, who have fallen so short of your design. We pray that you will help us see ourselves as our Father in Heaven sees us – as Saints, pure and perfect, because you have graciously and miraculously come to live in our hearts! Come and help us stay focused on you throughout our day – be our peace, our joy, and our purpose. In Jesus Name We Pray. AMEN

Assurance of Forgiveness:

Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, who joined us to Himself on the cross, …that Lord has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. Go now, and remember: God looks at you like He looks at His Son, because His Son lives with you! Forget about the image the world suggests you should build yourself, and let Christ do what you can not do for yourself! And… Praise God! AMEN

Opening prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we stand before you this morning in this place of grace, because someone once made us aware of the greatest gift ever given to the world – you! Someone once mentioned your name for the first time. Someone once reflected your love in the things they said and did! And through them your Holy Spirit entered to change our hearts and our lives! And now, because you live within us, because you have called us here, we anticipate the divine washing away of our sins this day! Because you joined us to yourself on the cross, we eagerly anticipate your life-giving Word that the scriptures will provide, as the power that provides new and true life is released. Because you claimed us, even though we were unworthy, we are able to lean on you, trust in you, and live in confidence even while we journey through a broken world. And now we ask that in this hour you would so fill us and shine in us that we would reflect your image to the world around us! As you lovingly invite, nurture, and love us – empower us to lovingly reach out to invite, nurture, and love those who do not yet know you or your church. Let your Holy Spirit come now and work in us, and through us, that your family will grow more and more each day. In Jesus Name we pray! AMEN!

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