It’s easy to point our finger at the evil queen and see what a fool she was. It’s easy, until we stand in front of our own magic mirror and say, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, am I ok after all?”
We look into the mirror of our own self-esteem and quickly discover we have a lot in common with the evil queen. We need as much help as we can get to prop up our self-image. It sure makes us feel better when the mirror tells us how great we look. We look at our bank account, and if it’s overflowing with ready cash, we feel good about ourselves. We look at our investment portfolio and retirement plan, and our future looks bright. We surely must be doing something right. We look at the expensive address where we live and know the rest of the world thinks we have it made on easy street. We look at our cars and expensive toys, and satisfaction wells up within. We may not be the fairest in the land, but we have done pretty well for ourselves.
The problem is that the mirror on the wall just told you everything you are not. All of your real estate, toys, good looks, and retirement plans are part of the problem. They are helping you hide from yourself. If you listen to the mirror on the wall, you will never have true self-esteem.
Who you are inside is what is important. If you like who you are, if you have good self-esteem, then everything the mirror tells you doesn’t matter.
Magic mirrors aren’t to be trusted. If you trust your self-esteem to a magic mirror, you will never find out who you are and never become all that God meant for you to be.
TRUE SELF-ESTEEM COMES FROM GOD
True self-esteem comes from God. When you stand in front of God’s mirror, you don’t see yourself as you are. You see yourself as God sees you, and you see how good your life can become when you max out on his love. The reflection you see is that of a child of God free from the mistakes and limitations of the past.
When you look into God’s mirror, you hear these words: “You are my child in whom I am well pleased. I love you and accept you the way you are, but I love you too much to let you stay that way. I love you from the top of your head to the tip of your toes, and it doesn’t get any better than that. There is no limit to how good your life will become when your heart and mind are full of my love. It’s time for you to max out on my love.”
YOU ARE CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD
God created you in his own image, and the fact you were made in his image is sufficient reason to have excellent self-esteem.
When God finished creating man and surveyed the results, He pronounced his creation good. He didn’t say the creation was fair, or that it was more or less good with only a few exceptions. He unequivocally, absolutely, and enthusiastically declared his creation was good. This applies to you and to everyone else living on planet earth. There are no exceptions.
God’s final act of creation was putting an eternal spirit inside our human body. God doesn’t have flesh and bones like humans. God is a Spirit, and the only way we could be made in his image was for God to put an eternal spirit into our body, and that is exactly what He did. The only part of us resembling God is our spirit. That spirit is who we are, and it’s the only part of us that matters. Our spirit is made in God’s image, and forms the core of our self-esteem.
Our bodies resemble those of chimpanzees, gorillas, crocodiles, and chipmunks. Our eyes tell us what we see is what we are, and therein lies the problem. We look at our bodies and our possessions and think they represent who we are, when they actually represent who we are not. We are not our hair, teeth, or toes. We are not our money or our possessions.
People who have a problem with their self-esteem are confused. They keep score of how well they are doing using a scorecard that is wrong. There is no way to look on the outside and tell who you are on the inside. One reason people lack self-esteem is because they feel who they are on the outside is more important than who they are on the inside. The have things backwards, and they are wrong.
If you believe that you are your image, your possessions, your curly hair, your bald head, your clothes, or your lifestyle, you are in big trouble. Your self-esteem will take a beating as you experience the ups and downs of living in the twenty-first century.
If your self-esteem rides the roller coaster of an image-oriented lifestyle, you will have a miserable life. When the stock market goes up, you will feel rich, and your self-esteem will soar like a hawk. When you lose your job, your self-esteem will crash and burn. When someone gives you a compliment, your self-esteem will be on top of the world. If someone criticizes you, your self-esteem will cringe and hide. Your self-esteem will always suffer until you base it on who you are on the inside. If you base it on what others think about you or how many toys you have accumulated, your self-esteem will auger in.
The fact that God created you in his image is a sure foundation on which to base your self-esteem. But it’s only the foundation. There are other reasons why you should love and accept yourself as you are.
The single most powerful reason is because God loves and accepts you as you are. If it’s good enough for God, it should be good enough for you. God went ahead and loved you without you doing anything to be worthy of his love.
If we had to be worthy before God gave us his love, we would all be in trouble. But that’s the point of creation in the first place. God did it because He wanted to do it, and He loved us from the get go. While we may do things that are unlovely, we need to get over it and get on with it. There’s no room for wallowing in self-pity or groveling in misery because we aren’t perfect. We are made in the image of God, and God doesn’t make mistakes. God loves us as we are, and his love makes us worthy. Period.
THE SUPERSTRUCTURE OF YOUR SELF-ESTEEM
The fact that God has invested his love in you and has a positive plan for your life forms the superstructure of your self-esteem. God loves you so much He isn’t going to let you stay the way you are. He is going to show you how to max out on his love and become all you can be. God is on your side. He is your advocate, and He will use the power of his love to wash the toxic waste from your mind and heal your damaged emotions.
God has enough power to turn your life around and make you into an entirely new person. Your old life will pass away, and your new life will begin when you open your heart to the Father’s love.
If God turned his back on you and left you totally up to your own devices, then perhaps you would have reason to question your self-worth. If God gave up on you because your problems were just too big, then maybe your self-esteem should justifiably suffer. If God’s love was not the most powerful force in the universe, then maybe you would be without hope. But none of these things are true.
God is your Father, and He will work with you for as long as it takes. Nothing is too hard for God’s love.
THE MOST AMAZING REASON FOR SELF-ESTEEM
The final reason for self-esteem is because you have the amazing privilege of calling God your Father. Jesus said that when you are born spiritually, God becomes your Father. To dare to call God your Father means you have a personal relationship with the One who created, runs, and sustains the universe. You are on a first name basis with God. This is not a distant once in a lifetime contact with God. It’s a daily walk with the Father who loves you with an everlasting love. The Father isn’t someone you meet once a year at an intergalactic spiritual retreat or only at the moment of your death. He is there all the time doing what He does best, loving you with an everlasting love, and allowing you to be one of his children.
When you are born spiritually and God becomes your Father, your self-esteem will never again be in question. You will not be confused about who you are or where you are going. It will be all right to be who you are, because God created you and loves you the way you are.
You don’t need to lead an image-oriented or performance-oriented lifestyle. You only need to accept the facts of life. You are worthy because God says so. Your self-esteem comes from God, because He loves you as you are. Take the following message from God and indelibly imprint it in your mind. Listen to what the Father has to say:
“You are my child in whom I am well pleased. I love you and accept you the way you are, but I love you too much to let you stay that way. I love you from the top of your head to the tip of your toes, and it doesn’t get any better than that. There is no limit to how good your life will become when your heart and mind are full of my love. It’s time for you to max out on my love.”
Positive self-esteem is just around the corner when you open your heart and mind to the power of God's love. God gave you a good mind, and He expects you to fill it with good things.
It's time to say good-bye to your negative prickly thoughts and hello to a positive mind.
Dr. Dave created the Positive Thinking Network with hundreds of websites that are changing the world one person at a time. When you visit the Positive Thinking Network, you discover the road map to a new life.
Pay a visit to the Positive Thinking University where positive minds are under construction.
Listen to Positive Thinking Podcasts to push your thoughts in a positive direction.
Visit Positive Thinking Radio and listen to alternative rock music from Too Many Drummers.
Check out Zero Tolerance To Negative Thinking and say good-bye to depression and hello to a positive mind.
Eradicate Depression uses positive graphics to assist you in the battle for a positive mind.
Zero Negative Thinking walks you through the jungle of negative thinking and explains why it is easier to be negative than positive.
Everything Possible Nothing Impossible helps you shed your limiting beliefs.
If you want to become a new person with positive self-esteem, nobody can stop you.
THE RED SEA CHRONICLES - A FIRST CLASS SAILING ADVENTURE
When Dr. Dave isn't working as a flying Doctor for the Indian Health Service, he is sailing around the world on his sailboat. Find out what it's like to sail on the ocean of your dreams by watching Dr. Dave's DVD - The Red Sea Chronicles. Put some positive adventure into your mind and push your life in a positive direction.
Captain Dave and his family spent eleven years sailing around the world on their Privilege 39 catamaran, Exit Only. During the trip, the crew of Exit Only shot 200 hours of video with professional cameras to show people what it's like to sail on a small boat around the world.
The Red Sea Chronicles is a one hour and twenty-two minute feature film showing their adventures as Exit Only sails through Pirate Alley in the Gulf of Aden and up the Red Sea. The professional footage documents their experiences in Oman, Yemen, Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt, and the Suez Canal. It chronicles the rigors of traveling in a remote section of the world rarely visited by cruisers. Exit Only dodges Yemeni pirates, fights a gale and sand storms in the Bab al Mandeb at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The crew explores deserted islands on the western shores of the Red Sea, and learns to check the cruising guides for land mines before venturing ashore.
The Red Sea Chronicles also has outstanding Special Features that include an Instructional Video on Storm Management that tells sailors how to deal with storms at sea.
And don't forget the two Music Videos: "The Red Sea Blues", and "Captain - Save Our Souls".
The Red Sea Chronicles is a first class adventure that stokes the sailing dreams of both experienced and wannabe sailors alike. Order your copy of the Red Sea Chronicles and experience the adventures of Exit Only as they sail around the world and up the Red Sea.
