Throughout my life, especially the early years, I struggled with a low view of myself. You could say that I had a poor self-image. This came about primarily because when I was in elementary school I was often picked on by the bigger boys in my class.
I often went to school in total fear of being harassed or hurt by the other children.
In the 1960s and early 1970s bullying wasn't handled very well by school teachers or administrators (at least in my experience). Teachers would merely ignore what was happening or mildly scold the kids if they saw the bullying taking place.
This constant picking on me caused me to have a view of myself that I didn't overcome until my adult years. I always felt small and inferior to everyone, even though I did my best to hide those feelings.
In my teenaged years I developed a talent in music and songwriting (limited, but not too bad for a self-taught guy). I wanted to make it in the music business but always thought I wasn't talented enough and my songs would never be accepted by those in the music industry. Those beliefs ultimately caused me to hang up my guitar and walk away from my piano. My low self-image won the day.
In many ways I still possess the scars of the early years. But God is SO good!
There are countless people who have a low view of themselves that has lasted throughout most of their lives. Something happened at some point in their life that caused an indelible mark that they have allowed to define them.
Oftentimes these people turn to drugs and alcohol or develop a reliance on prescription medication to help them with depression or anxiety. I have always thought that this made for a sad reality.
Does Anxiety Cause a Low Self-Image?
Indeed it does. This is especially true if the anxiety was developed during childhood. It is so sad to hear or read about the abuse of children. One may wonder how on earth any adult could intentionally cause emotional or physical harm to a child. The truth is that usually these "adults" are victims of abuse themselves. Their abuse of others is simply learned-behavior. That fact still doesn't justify their actions.
There are two responses that I have seen in these victims of abuse once they reach adulthood. Some grow increasingly anxious and depressed. They remain in a state of victimhood throughout their lives. They live in fear, worry, stress, and anxiety.
Others, however, respond with a resolve and determination to rise above their challenges and win a great victory over it. The don't want to live as victims. They choose to live as victors! They try to do anything and everything to blot out the effect and memory of those years of trauma.
God, the Bible, and the Self-Image
What I came to realize, after I became a Christian in 1979, was that being anxious, worried, afraid, and depressed is not of God. Holding on to these "realities" is our way of saying to God,
"Even though You value my life above everything else, it's not enough!"
Jesus gave some beautiful truths to a group of people who were always anxious about their next meal or what they might wear. They lived in a world in which these things were far more scarce than they are for us today. But Jesus wanted them to know that they were so valuable to God that they need not be concerned, worrisome, or anxious about any of these earthly matters.
Jesus said:
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
God wants you and me to know, no matter what has caused the anxiety, that YOU are of GREAT VALUE to Him. He has purposed your life for great service and impact for Him, yourself, and those around you.
When you and I focus on the cause of the anxiety we really are demonstrating a lack of trust in the Lord.
That's what I CHOSE to do. Even though I still bare the scars of some frightening times, I don't allow those circumstances of yesteryear to define my present.
At 62 I am still striving to grow deeper in my faith, live a life of service to the Lord and others, and rely on God's Word that reminds me that as far as God is concerned, I am great value.
So stop worrying and allowing old circumstances to define you. Focus on how God sees you and take each day as it comes and live to honor the Lord in each of those days.
Now I understand that some who read this may say, "Tony, that's just too simplistic a view. You don't know what I have been through."
You are right. I don't.
But I will never believe that what happened to you is greater than God's reply to what happened to you.
And I certainly don't think that relying on what God has said is too simplistic in any way.
I do indeed realize that there are some extreme cases and this is where proper diagnoses are required. But most of us need to simply stop focusing on what happened and believe God for the rest.
See yourself as God sees you. Of great value. Of great value NO MATTER WHAT you have faced.
Blessings,
Tony Guthrie
prayerguide4me@gmail.com
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