True Self-esteem

True Self-Esteem

You yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.

Titus 2:7

There is a lot of talk about self-esteem these days. We want our children to have a good view of their dignity and self-worth. We praise them and give them star charts, but true self-esteem doesn’t come from puffed-up words and stickers. It comes from young people seeing a problem, tackling it, and achieving more than they ever thought possible:

A fifteen-year-old girl in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, taught twenty-five children in grades one through eight. Some of her students were scarcely a year younger than she. During her second year of teaching, her twelve-year-old sister transferred into her one-room school so that she could help by teaching the eight first-graders how to read. Parents of the school children reported that the sisters did well. If Amish youth are not supposed to take pride in their work, they are at least permitted to feel satisfaction in working hard and accomplishing tasks like these. Since hard workers are highly esteemed by adults and peers alike, they have a good foundation on which to develop a positive and robust sense of self-worth.

We shouldn’t manufacture a sense of self-worth for our children. Instead we should teach them how to serve others. Praise for a job well done means far more than praise for praise and honor’s sake. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”

Peace comes from knowing God is always there to help us. And self-esteem comes from knowing who we are in Him and what we can do with His help. If you want children to have a great sense of self-worth, give them a hard task and watch them work hard to succeed!

Dear heavenly Father, too often I try to take the easy way out and use words to try to build up my kids. But I know deep down that what they need is training, coaching, and real-life experience. Use me today, Lord, to teach them how to depend on You and work hard for You.