Article January 5, 1981 Issue

Put some steam in your self-esteem

KENNY L. BAKER

To an actor, there is no greater pleasure than standing in the bright circle of a spotlight and hearing the thunder of applause. I speak from experience. But that satisfaction often ends just about the time the applause dies out. I know about that, too. One's self-esteem, if based on matter or personal sense, is a fragile thing indeed. What can form the basis for evaluating one's true worth?

Genuine self-esteem, or self-worth, begins with an awakened appreciation of one's true selfhood. Selfhood in Science does not refer to mortal personality. Man's true selfhood is to be found in his relation, as divine idea, to God. We must claim this spiritual identity for ourselves if we would enjoy true self-esteem. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes, "Asserting a selfhood apart from God, is a denial of man's spiritual sonship; for it claims another father."^{ Miscellaneous Writings, p. 183.}

Too often individuals think of themselves as inferior. They believe that whatever they are, as mortals, is something they just have to live with. People mistakenly accept this mortal view as reality. They are prone to use, as a standard of comparison, a matter-based perception of themselves.

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