2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Romans 12:2-5 (NLT)
Paul exhorts us, as Christ’s followers, to be critical thinkers. We are not to simply swallow the conventional wisdom of the day but are to examine it carefully. I think the idea of self-esteem is something we need to put under a microscope.
Isn’t self-esteem something that we are constantly told to esteem highly? Schools spend a tremendous amount of time, trying to promote self-esteem in children. Parents are paranoid of damaging it in their little ones. Popular songs teach that, “Learning to love yourself, is the greatest love of all.”
But it seems the more we have focused on self-esteem, the more insecure we all have become. Could the reason be that we are not created to focus on self? Could it be that a foundation for esteem that is built on self, might be a shaky one? Perhaps the self-esteem focus is just one symptom our hyper-individualistic paradigm that puts each one of us at the center of our own universe. If you think about it, that is a scary place to be. No wonder we all tend to be so insecure!
As followers of Christ, our identity is to be found in Him, the real Master of the universe. If that is the case, we don’t have to go around thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought and trying to get everyone to agree with a high self-appraisal in order to maintain our self-worth. We are free to be realistic about who God created each of us to be. We don’t have to be it all and do it all.
We can then take our place within the Body of Christ. We have each been given gifts to share. ALL OF THEM are important! EACH ONE OF US is equally important no matter the gifts we have to share. When we think we are more important than someone else in the Body, we do it damage. We take on roles that are better done by others or we simply ignore the importance of “lesser” roles. On the other hand, if we think our gifts and roles are less important, the Body can be harmed as well. We can tend to drop out and simply stop contributing because we feel we are not needed anyway.
One reason why I think good church worship music is so important, is that it illustrates this concept of unity and diversity. Good worship music takes an ensemble approach. Those on stage are NOT performers, but are facilitators that recognize that the full ensemble includes each member of the congregation. We are to share our individual gifts and talents in ways that contribute to the whole and encourage others to contribute what they have as well. One person will skillfully play the drums, another the bass, another the guitar or keyboard each blending with the others. Singers won’t just sing what ever they want when they want, but listen to the others, carefully harmonizing and singing dynamically. The congregation is then encouraged to sing along joining with the team. The whole becomes much greater than the each individual part.
The Body of Christ, functions the same way. It is healthy and strong when each of us simply dedicates ourselves to sharing our gifts. When everyone is fully exercising their gifts, it is not any individual that is built up, but it is Christ who is made known. Christ is esteemed!
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