Article December 28, 1987 Issue

No need for self-depreciation and envy

You are worth something. In fact, you're indispensable!

Sharon Slaton Howell

Too many people struggle with feelings of inadequacy; their lives are not happy. And when envy is in the picture, existence can seem miserable. It's a crime for anyone to suffer this way—when the Bible brings out man's true selfhood and consequent dignity and worth.

To take just one of the many powerful statements from the Scriptures, First John points out, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God."^{I John 3:2.} Feelings of low self-esteem and unhappiness arise from a blindness to our true individuality as God's own child, His image and likeness—spiritual now, perfect.

Understanding, even in a degree, our importance to God and the fact that He loves us will bring marked release from self-depreciation. It is thinking of ourselves as limited mortals who are cut off from our divine source that causes us to feel we don't measure up. But when we begin to discern what the man of His creating really is—and realize that we are this man—we see the good that already belongs to us as God's pure, spiritual reflection.

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