If you’re like most people, past experiences probably influence your self-image. If you’ve failed, you may feel like a failure, but that’s the wrong way to think. Your failures do not define you.
In fact, God wants you to feel good about yourself so you can live the amazing life he has for you.
I realize that statement directly contradicts much of the religious teaching out there, which is based on negative motivation. You may have been taught that anyone who breaks the Ten Commandments stands a good chance of burning in hell for it, which might have caused you to question if there was any point in trying to be good. Not only is that teaching false, biblically speaking, but its negative motivation never works…not for long, anyway. Here’s why.
One of the most common reasons people distance themselves from God is personal failure. They’ve been taught that Christians have an advantage in overcoming temptation, but they still struggle. When they fail to meet the standard they’ve set for themselves, they become confused. They ask themselves, If all Christians are supposed to live perfect lives, what’s wrong with me? They conclude either that they are too badly flawed to ever be good, or that Christianity simply doesn’t work for them.
But that thinking, based on negative motivation, doesn’t take into account how persistent old habits can be in keeping a grip on us. Even if you’re a Christian, you’re still going to be tempted. The fact that you are a member of God’s family empowers you to overcome it, but there’s no magic wand. We all need to make tough choices.
Someone screaming at you to stop what you’re doing does nothing to help you change, and berating yourself for failure will never empower you to rise above it. The greatest power for change comes from God, and you access that power through faith.
How do you gain that better image of yourself? Colossians 3:10 clarifies that you put on the new you “as you learn to know your Creator and become like him” (NLT). As you get to know God better, your self-image will begin to line up with God’s image of you. You get to know God better by spending time with him, listening to great biblical teaching and by reading the Bible.
What’s the truth about you? If you’re a believer, the Bible says you are God’s child (1 John 3:1; Galatians 3:26, 4:6–7; Romans 8:14–15). You are Jesus’s friend (John 15:15). You are a citizen of heaven and are seated in heavenly places (Philippians 3:20; Ephesians 2:6). You’re an overcomer and more than a conqueror (1 John 5:4; Romans 8:37). You are loved (John 3:16; Romans 5:8), forgiven (1 John 1:9), strengthened (Philippians 4:13), and full of power, love, and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7; Acts 1:8).
Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in condemnation. That negative thinking does nothing to empower you to do right. Instead, pick yourself up and keep going, confident in the power Jesus gives you to overcome everything that comes your way.
Adapted from The Spirit Contemporary Life: Unleashing the Miraculous in Your Everyday World by Leon Fontaine. Get your copy today!