How to Receive a Whole New Self-ImageНамуна

Security from Within

Self-promotion seems to be the way of the world, doesn’t it? 

We’re constantly under the microscope, being assessed and evaluated in the workplace, in social settings, on the sporting field. We’re conditioned to compete with and assess others in the same way. And in a competitive environment, if you want to succeed, you have to impress other people. 

But what I’ve discovered is that this whole competition mindset makes us feel insecure.  The shameless self-promotion that many people carry on with is simply a mask behind which they hide their deep insecurity. 

You’ve been there, I’ve been there, and it’s no way to live your life!

God actually has some very specific things to say on this because He knows that hiding behind a mask is not good or healthy. Instead, He wants you to live with real, inner security, powered by the confidence in who He has made you to be and how much He loves and values you. What a difference!

If who you are on the outside is different from who you are on the inside, you end up feeling like you’re being torn apart. You spend your whole life trying to impress other people and feeling like a fraud, scared that someone will catch you out, that they’ll discover that you really aren’t as good as they think you are. 

I hope you can tell that I’m speaking from firsthand experience here, because this is how I lived my life before Jesus set me free.

Self-promotion is ugly. It’s ugly on the outside to those who receive it, and it’s ugly on the inside because it feeds a deep insecurity and makes you feel even more insecure.

If you’re someone who constantly worries about what people think about you, stop it! It isn’t worth it. You can never please them all. Just get on, do good, honor God, and let the rest take care of itself. Or, more to the point, let God take care of it for you.

“‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.” – 1 Peter 5:5-6 (NRSV)

The bottom line is that self-promotion is nothing compared to God-promotion. 

When we humble ourselves, we discover a deep security in Christ. And we end up reaping the benefits of His promotion, in due time. 

Life application questions

• Have you ever felt that you’re being scrutinized by others in your work or career, on social media or the sporting ground, or even in your own home? How did it affect you? 
• Have you ever, deliberately or unconsciously, found yourself judging someone else by their appearance or achievements? How did it affect you? 
• How does it shift things to know that your true security doesn’t come from the outside—what you look like or what others think—but from the inside, from God’s love for you and your confidence in Him?
• Spend some time in prayer, asking God to break you out of the loop of insecurity and instead instill a sense of His presence and love in your heart of hearts.