Some years ago, there appeared a new twist to understanding the conversation Jesus had with a man of the law. The account is recorded in Mark 12:28-33:
And one of the scribes came, and having heard them, reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou has said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other than he, And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
The twist came in loving neighbor as self. We were told by those who promoted it that you cannot love your neighbor until you love yourself. So you must love yourself. You must pamper yourself. You must do something nice for yourself. That way you will have a basis for doing something nice for your neighbor. You can love your neighbor if you love yourself.
Now I believe that is self-esteem gone to seed. What a harvest it yields because people become selfish! Every seed yields a hundredfold.
Solomon, the wise man of the Old Testament, in Proverbs 16:18-19 gives us further good counsel. He says:
Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Therefore, I wish to help you in your self-esteem. The apostle Paul spoke to this point in Romans 12:3:
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, accord ing as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
So self-esteem is proper if it is properly understood. Therefore let’s consider the subject of CORRECTED SELF-ESTEEM as it is found in I Corinthians 4:6-9:
6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and [to] Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
8 Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
To experience a Corrected Self-Esteem, we must give careful attention to the several CONDITIONS of community life in the body of Christ.
The first condition to be corrected is:
6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and [to] Apollos for your sakes; that ye migh...
