Self in Someone Else
“Self in Someone Else” July 2022
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought…” (Romans 12:3).
CNN interviewed Tom Arnold, the comedian. He had just written a book called, How I Lost 5 Pounds in 6 Years: An Autobiography. The interviewer asked him, “Why did you write this book?” Stone faced Arnold replied, “I wrote this book because I am a broken person. I do things to get people to love me. I have this addiction. It’s called the Amazon addiction. I go online and check Amazon every day and see what my ranking is on my book. If it’s high, I am worth something. If it’s not I am worth nothing.”
I’m not an author but I do fall prey to the Amazon addiction. I tend to project my self-esteem off others. I want people to like me - validate me - yes, convince me that I really matter. How about you? To be sure wanting people to like you may not be wrong in and of itself but if it’s rooted in you being a star shining forth that people adore to give you ultimate value - it is a lie. Society says how we measure value is how it is reflected back to us in the approval of others. It’s easy to think: the more admiration, the brighter we shine, the greater our self-worth. But ask anyone who has experienced those things over time if that is actually true. They will tell you, “No.”
Healthy self-esteem doesn’t come from prestige; it comes from being who we are designed to be in Christ. And we’re not designed to be solo stars; we’re designed to be parts of an organism that puts jewels in the crown of King Jesus. We see this in Romans 12:3–5:
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 - For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 - so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Self-worth begins with grace: “by the grace given to us” (Romans 12:3, 6). None of us deserves our “membership” in the body. It comes from God as an incredible gift of his grace through faith in Christ as our Savior from sin. We don’t choose which part we play in the body of Christ either. Christ places us where he plans to best use us in our role together with others to bring the most glory to himself. Want to reaffirm your value? Humbly roll up your sleeves and serve in the body of Christ, his church, for his glory with others. Find self-worth in someone else.
“In Christ’s church you can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together we can best do what God wants us to do for his glory. No nobodies - everybody a somebody for him.”
Seeking with you to find self in someone else - Jesus