Lake Deaton at Home

In my life, I have had times when I have had good self-esteem and times when I have had terrible self-esteem.  I have found that all of us are somewhere on that spectrum.  We are either super confident in ourselves and everything we do, never doubting for a moment, or we second guess everything and are full of anxiety and even beat ourselves up.  As I said, though, I tend to float around in the middle.  Sometimes feeling confident and other times full of self-judgment.  In our scripture for today, you will see that Paul seems to have won this battle.  In verse 3, he says, “As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by your or by any human authority.  I don’t even trust my own judgment at this point.”  He can throw off the idea of others judging him, usually one of the sources of low self-esteem, and he confesses that he doesn’t trust his own judgment of himself, so he is not going to be overconfident in himself.  He can sit nicely there in the middle, not worried about any of that stuff, because of his deep and grounded relationship with Jesus.  He has a clarity of calling and confidence in his actions.  

1 Corinthians 4

Reflection Questions:

1. Are you too hard on yourself or too easy on yourself?  Give examples.  
2. Do you judge others?  Either working to puff them up or bring them low?  
3. How do you find a balance in your life, partnering with God? 

So What Activity:  This last weekend, we let go of the uncertainty we had in our lives.  Being too hard on ourselves can lead to uncertainty.  Is there something you still need to let go of?  Find a rock in your yard, say a prayer about letting it go, and then lay it down.  You might have to do this a few times this week.  

Blessings,