When I was in High School, I had a classmate tell me one day, “If you were to die, no one around here would ever miss you” – my assessment was that people would be better off without me around! That was an inaccurate perception of my worth. Proverbs 28:26 says “he who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.” my classmate’s statement was not a true statement because if I would have died, there were many around who would have missed me (I would venture to guess that classmate would have, also!). Let me suggest to you, a few things you can do to overcome inaccurate perceptions you may make like mine in this case. 1. Evaluate the available data on which you have based your erroneous perceptions (Pr. 28:26) – Asking yourself the right kind of self-examination questions can help you deliver yourself from much misery by getting you right to the heart of the issue. 2. Invalidate erroneous perceptions on the basis of two or three witnesses (2 Cor. 13:1) Call together 2-3 of the wisest, most mature people you know. Explain your perceptions, and ask them if it … READ MORE

The first area of we must learn to control if we are to develop Biblical value judgments is inaccurate perceptions. This has to do with the accuracy of our perceptions about ourselves. The effects of sin on our minds hinder us from interpreting life from God’s point of view naturally. We must overcome those inferiority judgments with the assistance of Scripture. We must never look for some mystical power in that Scripture, but the power of the Word of God is seen in the application of the truth in our thinking. It takes hard work to reprogram how we think, and this is not “mind over matter” but rather learning to live and walk in the power of the Spirit of God to transform our minds. Before we come to Christ our assessment of ourselves in based on what our peers say and think about us. Yet the reality is that as a believer we need to understand that we are created in the Image of God, and therefore, have value no matter what those around us may think. Everyone has value from the newly conceived child, to the oldest person, age does not determine our value, God does. And … READ MORE

In 2 Timothy 3:1-7 Paul gives a description of what people will look like during the end times. A careful reading lends itself to a view of man today. We live in a day and age where the idea that “self-esteem” s essential for a person’s happiness. Yet the current teaching of “self-esteem” seems to fall under the category of “lovers of self, more than lovers of God” The Scriptures speak of a man’s heart, mind, conscience, emotions, thoughts, and movies, but says nothing about I “self-image”. The reality is that Our happiness is not related as much to how we esteem ourselves as it does to how we esteem others. According to 2 Timothy 3:1-7 self-image is not an organ or entity of itself, it is better understood as a judgment a person makes as they evaluate themselves. This internal evaluation is what is commonly referred to as our “self-image” Therefore, self-image is not an emotion or a feeling, but rather a part of our thinking process. People actually don’t “feel inferior” , rather they judge themselves to be inferior and feel awful about their self-evaluation. As a Christian, we should strive to have an accurate evaluation of ourselves, … READ MORE