(New Oxford American Dictionary: Self Esteem: confidence in one’s own worth or abilities; self respect)

Self esteem, self worth, self respect: where does it come from?

It comes from how we see ourselves. The problem is that from the minute we are born our enemy the devil is working against us by talking to us through others and to our own mind.
Remember what he did to Adam and Eve.

He challenged what God had said. Hath God said? What did God really say? Are you sure He told the truth?

The devil lied to them and they believed it. They got fired from their job, evicted from their house, and their kids started killing each other.

All because they believed a lie.

Unfortunately, our entire life we base our self worth on our works. Did we get an A or did we get an F? Did we hit a home run or did we strike out?

Did we score a touchdown or did we fumble? Did we get invited to the party or did we not get an invitation? Did we get a date for the prom or did we get turned down? Did we get the scholarship? Did we get the job? Did we get the promotion?
It goes on and on through out our life.

The Power of God's Word
Thank God once we are born again and begin to get God’s Word in our heart and find out who we are in Christ, things begin to change.

The revealed Word of God tells us that we have an enemy who is a liar.

Our Enemy:

• He does not stand for the truth for there is no truth in him, for he is a liar. (John 8:44)
• He was a murderer from the beginning. (John 8:44)
• He comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10)
• He is wily; he is deceitful, skilled at gaining an advantage. He manipulates and persuades people to do what he wants. (Ephesians 6:11)
• He takes people captive lying to them, getting them to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:26)
• He lures into pride in order to condemn. (1 Timothy 3:6)
• He walks about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
• He is called the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10).
• He is a deceiver. (Revelation 20:10)
• He works through people. Jesus said to Peter, ”Get behind me Satan!” (Mark 8:33)

Summation: Our enemy the devil is:

1. A liar
2. A murderer
3. A thief
4. A deceiver
5. A manipulator
6. A condemner
7. A devourer
8. An accuser
9. Working against us through other people.

That is why it is so important that from childhood we know how God sees us.

When we get in the Word, we see that we are highly valued. That God loves us, that we can do all things through Christ Jesus, that we are gifted and talented — called for a purpose.

We can't let someone else set our value — not when God has already determined that when he sent His Son to redeem us. It's not just some "inspirational" saying — we are highly valued and prized in God's eyes- and  those eyes belong to the creator of heaven and earth.

When we love and value what God does then we can love what He tells us to.

What the Word Says:
Proverbs 23:7 As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

Love Your Neighbor As You Love Yourself

And they asked Jesus: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
(Matt. 22:36-40 NKJV)

If you don’t love yourself, your neighbor is in trouble.

Thank God, every day is a new opportunity to practice this and even if we failed to live up to this yesterday — we've got a new chance today!