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Self-Esteem in the Bible?

8/21/2025

Article #15 on Psychology

Are you feeling good about yourself? Self-esteem is a lifelong battle for most people. It is quite normal to feel unworthy, ashamed, guilty, and afraid. Why? Something is going on inside that needs to be honestly confronted. It is the work of the conscience (Rom. 2:13-15). This is what makes us different than the animals.

Our conscience gives us the ability to discern right and wrong, and thus we are morally accountable before God for how we choose to live in this world. Naturally, as sinners, we feel condemned in the courtroom of our conscience, only because we truly are condemned before God. Everyone, everywhere, without exception, needs to be saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” – Rom. 3:19

Our conscience agrees with the laws of God in the Bible and bears witness to us that we are lawbreakers. God is speaking through the conscience! And this is why sinners are terrified to violate their own conscience in new and unprecedented ways. A stabbing sense of guilt, remorse, fear, and shame only increases as we sin against God (1 Cor. 15:56). Meanwhile, famous psychologists like Carl Jung would like you to completely ignore your conscience and simply accept yourself, but even he acknowledges that it is terrifying to go against your conscience. “The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” (Carl Jung). Evidently, you are going to have a hard time doing that! Your conscience is resisting you as it acts as a mental reprover.

“Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.” – Rom. 14:22

Self-esteem is an uphill battle that you are never going to win, unless your conscience is seared and you silence the mental reprover. This is not advisable (Titus 1:15). The ruin of the conscience leads to spiritual insanity! This is the kind of thing that celebrities talk about, when they say, “Accept who you are; and revel in it.” (Mitch Albom).

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;” – 1 Tim. 4:1-2

A broken conscience is noisy and bothersome. People resort to drinking and drugs to get through the day. They rely on sleeping pills to get through the night (Eccl. 5:12, 8:16, Prov. 4:16, Micah 2:1). “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” (Isa. 57:21). Most people know deep within that something is terribly wrong, but they are too proud to admit it or too busy to confront it. They don’t have time for God! They are too busy enjoying the honor and approval of their peers (Matt. 23:5, Ps. 49:13, John 5:44, Prov. 16:5).

“Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” – Lk. 16:15

Self-esteem is impossible because that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. As a matter of fact, instead of esteeming ourselves, we should be denying ourselves. Self is the problem in a world of lost sinners. Salvation from self is the only solution.

“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” – Jesus Christ (Luke 9:23)

Jesus Christ, the embodiment of divine love, had some heavy things to say about self. The truth hurts because sinners are conditioned to believe that flattery is love. However, in this case, flattery is not honesty. The situation is hopeless as long as sinners remain godless. Nevertheless, when man-meets-God, everything changes. The Gospel is a message of reconciliation. Sinners are turned into saints! Do you want to know more? Start reading the Bible. Seek God. Confess your sins to the Lord in prayer. Believe in the Gospel! If you don’t understand it, ask the Lord to guide you into an understanding of the Gospel so that you can be truly saved by Jesus Christ. Only then will you find rest for your soul (Matt. 11:28-30).

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Do You Love Yourself?

8/15/2025

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Article #14 on Psychology

Do you love yourself? This is a core part of self-esteem in psychology. Are you accepting and receiving the love of God for yourself? This is a core part of salvation in Christianity. The two are mutually exclusive.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” – 2 Tim. 3:1-5

Do you love yourself? For most people this is a question of goodness. “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:12). Or it is a question of righteousness. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). Loving oneself is easy for those who feel good about themselves. These feelings stem from the belief that you are lovely or lovable. On the contrary, the Apostle Paul said, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24). Obviously, Paul wasn’t feeling good about himself. It is not the voice of self-love that we hear from Christians in the Bible. No! Rather, it is the voice of self-hatred. Why?

“Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” – Eccl. 2:17

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:26

“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” - Joh 12:25

God is angry with sinners everyday (Ps. 7:11). Our sin is hateful, despicable, and abominable. You have heard that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” by God (Ps. 139:14). This is true! Our biological design makes us a masterpiece of creation. But we are unlovely and wretched on the inside because we are sinful (Matt. 23:27-28). Coming to this realization will make you morally hate yourself! We are not talking about being suicidal. This is where Christians humbly come into agreement with the justice of God (Ps. 5:5). We agree with the angry frown of divine justice and accept the fact that we deserve condemnation, and this puts us into a position where we can comprehend the love of God. Why? Because God’s love cannot be merited or deserved by sinners.

“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” – Rom. 5:7-8

God does not love sinners because they are lovely or loveable. Being created in the Image of God does not make the LORD less angry with sinners or partial in judgment (Gen. 1:26). This marvelous feature of mankind does not make us less guilty. On the contrary, because we are more valuable to God than many sparrows (Matt. 10:31), and because we have been given the capacity of a relationship and accountability, our sin against God is much more grievous, unacceptable, and intolerable. Sinners distort and misrepresent the Image of God as they violate their conscience and give themselves over to the raw passion and pleasure of sin. This is an animalistic and beastly debasement of mankind.

"But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption" – 2 Pet. 2:12

Our Creator gave us eyes, and said, “Look to Me!” (Isa. 45:22), but sinners prefer to look elsewhere. “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom. 3:18). Similarly, the LORD said, “Read the Bible!” (Deut. 17:19), but sinners are addicted to worldly entertainment. “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” (Psalm 10:4). Our Creator gave us ears, and said, “Listen to Me!” (Deut. 6:4, Isa. 46:3, 12, 49:1), but sinners disrespect God and ignore the Bible. “Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.” (Jer. 6:10).

Our Creator gave us a heart, and said, “Love Me!” (Matt. 22:37-38), but sinners have hardened in their hearts against God and are madly in love with sin (Ezek. 36:26-27, Jn. 3:19-20). Our Creator gave us a brain, and said, “Know Me!” (Jer. 4:22, 9:23-24, Jn. 17:3), but sinners are strangely dead to God and numb to the Holy Spirit. “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” (Rom. 3:11).

“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” – Rom. 8:5-8

Our Creator gave us a mouth, and said, “Talk to Me!” (Jer. 33:3, 1 Thess. 5:17), but sinners are mute to God or insincere in prayer. “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness” (Rom. 3:13-14). Our Creator gave us feet, and said, “Follow Me!” (Matt. 16:24-26), but sinners prefer the nightlife of Broadway and the fantasy of Theater. “Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known:” (Rom. 3:15-17). All seems hopeless if we are left to ourselves! Something is terribly wrong with our eyes, ears, heart, mind, mouth, and feet. The love of oneself is twisted, corrupt, unrealistic, and dangerous.

Nevertheless, there is hope. God still loves sinners even though they are hideous monsters of iniquity! How can it be? He may not delight in them, but He loves them (Mal. 2:17). He has devised and accomplished a plan of salvation for sinners. Speaking of this, it was written, “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). God’s love is greater and stronger than anyone has ever imagined! As we honestly accept our sin, guilt, and condemnation, according to the Scriptures, lost sinners are then guided into the grace of salvation, because God is in the business of saving His enemies.

“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” – Rom. 5:10-11

Heaven is publishing good news to condemned sinners! Salvation is a divine miracle. It is entirely the work of God in the human soul. Do you want to be saved from yourself? Sinners are reconciled to God by grace through faith in the Gospel, and upon being reconciled, they are reborn. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3). A permanent change takes place by the mighty power of God! Sinners are turned into saints. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). Right now, even today, divine love is going about the world conquering, converting, and creating. Today is the day of salvation! Tomorrow is not promised. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21).

Take My Life &Let it Be...

1. Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.

2. Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee,
swift and beautiful for thee.

3. Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee,
filled with messages from thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose,
every power as thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne,
it shall be thy royal throne.

6. Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee,
ever, only, all for thee.

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Believe in Yourself?

8/14/2025

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Article #13 on Psychology

Do you believe in yourself? This is a core part of self-esteem in psychology. Do you believe in God? This is a core part of salvation in Christianity. These two beliefs are mutually exclusive.

“Have faith in God.” - Mk. 11:22

God deserves our trust because the LORD is pure, spotless, sinless, and faithful. We are the exact opposite. Sinners do not deserve our faith because such creatures are not trustworthy. Therefore, it is extremely foolish to trust in oneself.

“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.” – Prov. 28:26

“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.” – Jer. 17:5

Having faith in yourself is sacrilegious and idolatrous. It is sacrilegious because you can’t have faith in God while believing in yourself. It is idolatrous because faith is an essential act of worship that belongs to God. Faith in oneself is the idolization of man in the place of God. And we know that no idolater will inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10, Eph. 5:5, Rev. 21:8). Belief in oneself is a religious act of idolatry that enshrines your own understanding and wisdom. Doing what’s right in your own eyes isn’t a good thing.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” – Prov. 3:5-7

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” – Prov. 12:15

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” – Prov. 16:25

Naturally, if you believe in yourself, you will be true to your passions and interests even if they aren’t ethical, moral, or biblical. You will want to live authentically for yourself! This is the bane of psychological treatment. Your local Therapist will send you on an exciting quest of self-discovery that ends in shipwreck.

“A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.” – Prov. 18:2

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.” – Prov. 21:2

Have you figured out who you are? God knows. Before you prioritize your happiness as a sinner, and suppose that this is the essence of living a good life, you should read the Bible. God has something to say about you.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” – Jer. 17:9-10

Psychology was invented by sinners in the 1700s as an act of rebellion against the Bible. Psychology will make you feel good about yourself because you are deemed to be an innocent victim of your environment. The Bible teaches us that sinners are guilty criminals in the sight of God. Psychological treatment ministers a false peace to condemned sinners.

“They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” – Jer. 6:14

At the end of the day, if you are feeling good about yourself, your Therapist has done her job. The indoctrination of psychology has done its work. At the end of the day, if you are feeling bad about yourself, the courtroom Judge at City Hall has done her job. The due process of justice has done its work. The former is treated like a victim and the latter a criminal. Which one are you? Just punishments bring remorse to otherwise impenitent criminals.

“What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” – Rom. 3:9-19

The Word of God, contained in the Bible, deals honestly with the situation that we are in as condemned sinners. We need to see our criminal behavior against the laws of God in the Bible as something outrageous and unacceptable. Only then will we, as sinners, come to appreciate the Savior of sinners. Only then will we see justice being served at the Cross of Jesus Christ, who suffered and died in our place on the dark hill of Golgotha, receiving in Himself the punishment that we deserved. Only then will we truly repent and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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No Cure for Mental Illness?

8/12/2025

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Article #12 on Psychology

The mental health industry of America is failing. Nearly 50,000 Americans died by suicide in the year 2022! Mental illness is spreading like a plague. It is becoming increasingly clear to everyone that wealth, power, fame, and prosperity doesn’t produce peace. People are dying! And the common people want answers. Mental health professionals are doing their best and failing miserably. Why? Because there is no cure for mental illness.

Literally, according to science, there is no cure for mental illness. You are mentally ill because you have neurochemical imbalances in your brain. You are mentally ill because you have neurotransmitter abnormalities in your brain. Scientists have no ability to correct these imbalances and abnormalities, not even with manmade synthetic drugs. They can sedate or stimulate the brain, but they cannot correct these imbalances and abnormalities through drugs.

Despite all the technological advances of the modern era and a heavily financed mental health industry, there is still no cure for mental illness! Something is wrong. Something is missing in the philosophy of psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience.

“The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?” - Jeremiah 8:9

Correctly identifying the cause of the problem is essential to finding a solution. Scientists are trying to solve a two-dimensional problem one-dimensionally. God created mankind in both body and soul – a two-dimensional person. There is a physical world and a spiritual world, and these two worlds overlap and blend in the area of mental health. Noble scientists with good intentions have spent too much time studying biochemistry and physiology while ignoring theology.

“If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” - John 3:12

Neurochemical and neurotransmitter imbalances and abnormalities are real physiological problems in the brain, but these problems are caused by the stress of sin. Sin is a spiritual problem with physical consequences, and thus it is the cause of all mental and emotional problems (James 1:15). Salvation from sin is therefore the solution to all mental and emotional problems – the equivalent of a mental health resurrection from the dead.

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” – Jesus Christ (John 10:10)

While overlooking the real cause of mental illness, scientists are tinkering with the brain through sedation and stimulation in hopes for a better outcome. It isn’t working! God doesn’t want sinners to feel at home and happy in a “world of iniquity” that is controlled by the devil (James 3:6, 2 Cor. 4:4). Sin is destructive and deadly like mental poison in the body (Rom. 3:13-14, Job 20:12-26). Sinners are hurting because sin is psychologically poisonous. “The sting of death is sin” (1 Cor. 15:56). Sedating or stimulating an already poisoned brain doesn’t solve the problem. Spiritual problems require spiritual solutions, and the physical imbalances and abnormalities will be amended in the process. The Bible contains all the answers to the questions of life! Read it for yourself to discover the meaning of life. Repent and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and you will be cured of mental illness.

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The Mental Health Crisis of Being a Sinner

8/12/2025

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Article #11 on Psychology

Mental Health According to the Bible?

Being a sinner is a mental health crisis that is normalized in society. Sinners are mentally and emotionally addicted to sin! Such a condition should never be called “healthy” (Job 15:15-16). It is a sickness of the soul that needs to be healed. It is a disease of the mind that has a cure.

“They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” – Jesus Christ (Mark 2:17)

Sinners habitually enjoy the things that God hates. This is called “enmity” in the Bible (Rom. 8:6-8). Essentially, sinners are mentally and emotionally alienated from God. They have eyes, but they can’t see! They have ears, but they can’t hear! This is the worst kind of sensory deprivation.

“For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” – Matt. 13:15

We are talking about the sensory deprivation of sheer godlessness. Theologically, this is called total moral depravity. God is here, but He isn’t being known. God is light, but the common people are sitting in darkness. This is a mental and emotional godlessness.

“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” – Ephesians 4:18-19

In such circumstances, sinners need to read the Bible and pay attention to their conscience. You have heard that we have been created in the Image of God? Our conscience makes us different than the animals. The animals aren’t sinners. They are amoral because they don’t have a conscience. Our conscience is a mental reprover that makes us morally conscious, and therefore we have the unique ability to know God (Rom. 2:13-15). If you ignore the mental reprover then the mental illness of being a sinner only gets worse. God speaks through the conscience as a mental reprover. If you reject the light, then your wandering in darkness will only get worse. Beware! It is possible to be given over to a “reprobate mind” according to the Bible (Rom. 1:28).

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” – Rom. 1:28-32

Sinners feel guilt, shame, fear, and anxiety when they sin against God. This is the work of our conscience. These feelings should not be ignored or disregarded, or else the problem will only get worse. Our conscience helps us feel our need for God! Our conscience helps us feel our need for salvation!

“Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” – Eccl. 2:17

God is not a sinner. God does not want people sinning in a mental and emotional condition of godless happiness. God wants sinners to feel their need for Jesus Christ! Feelings of guilt, shame, fear, and anxiety are the unpleasant consequences of sinning against God. Sin is poisonous to our mental health (1 Cor. 15:56). We sin, because we are sinners! Self is the problem (Rom. 3:9-20). Consequentially, self-esteem is not the solution. You need to die to self! This is the preaching of the cross.

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” – 1 Cor. 1:18

“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” - Mark 8:34-35

“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” - John 12:25

If you are feeling mentally ill due to sin, then you need an appointment with the great Physician. In other words, you need to take a spiritual journey to Mount Calvary! This is how Jesus Christ saves people. The cross is an instrument of execution. Nothing of yourself will survive the cross! You must come to an end, and only then will Christ begin. We are talking about repentance and faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ leading to a new birth experience (John 3:3).

Salvation is a miracle! It is entirely the work of God in the human soul. Realistically, it is a mental and emotional resurrection from the dead. The killing of the cross is for a resurrection! “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17). The Creator has power to transform lost and hurting sinners into new creatures. Everything has been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.