Snippets: Low Self-Esteem is Not Humility (1 Samuel 15) - Recognizing Christ (2024)
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Note particularly vv. 17 and 24:
17And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.18And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”
24Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.25Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” 26And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel” (1 Samuel 15:17-26).
Saul had low self-esteem. Yet he was not humble. In fact, his low self-esteem inspired him to exalt himself in a heinous act of disobedience. Because he thought of himself in low terms he was a people-pleaser. He ‘feared the people and obeyed their voice’ rather than obeying God.
You make think that you are being humble by patting people on the back and giving them what they want, when, in fact, you are actually exalting yourself to the heavens.
You may think that you are making great sacrifices by giving others what they want, when you are in fact disobeying God. This is no true humility. By thinking little of yourself in terms of esteem, you are actually thinking much of yourself in terms of the desired outcome.
Christ was and is no people-pleaser. He said hard words. He made hard demands. But he was and is the humblest man who ever lived. True humility is conformity to the image of Christ – not living in fear of people, but doing what is best for them even when it is going to hurt (and you will likely be the one hurting).
If you are a king, acknowledge that you are king and live like it. That doesn’t make you proud, it makes you honest. Letting others get their way isn’t necessarily humility. It may simply be cowardice.
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Being humble is recognising that you're flawed and have weaknesses, but also recognising what your talents and strengths are. In contrast, having low self-esteem is only viewing yourself as having flaws and weaknesses, and rarely acknowledging your own strengths.
In the New Testament days, low or high self esteem has no biblical significance in the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ., because all true believers must live as new creation, 2 Cor 5:17 - “.. if any one is in Christ he/she is a new creation, the old passed away, behold, the new has come.
Mephibosheth blamed his servant and made excuses as to why he had not been loyal to David. David saw through the excuses. They reveal the character of Mephibosheth. 4 Away from the king's blessings, the outward appearance of Mephibosheth began to reflect his low self-esteem again.
The mission is to "totally destroy" the Amalekites, a practice called herem in Hebrew or "the ban" in English, where no prisoner should be taken and all spoil should be destroyed.
So, can you have a healthy Self-Esteem and still be humble? We believe yes, 100% you can! And we would suggest that there can be a strong relationship between being humble and having a healthy Self-Esteem. Self-Esteem is the recognising and knowing your worth, humility is not lauding it over others.
One of the keys to balancing self-confidence and humility is to know your value. This means recognizing your skills, talents, and contributions, as well as your areas of improvement. Knowing your value can help you avoid both overconfidence and underconfidence, which can harm your performance and reputation.
Some of the many causes of low self-esteem may include: Unhappy childhood where parents (or other significant people such as teachers) were extremely critical. Poor academic performance in school resulting in a lack of confidence. Ongoing stressful life event such as relationship breakdown or financial trouble.
Rather, I would define proper Christian self-esteem this way: Proper Christian self-esteem is God's regard of me as good and beloved. It is God's judgment of me in the gospel as forgiven and as adopted as His son. It is God's acceptance of me in mercy.
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Tim 1:7, ESV) Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
Evaluation of the passages referring to King David indicated that he was afflicted by some mental disorder, and among the many possibilities major depression, dysthymia and minor depression are the most likely.
So we all need to pray, “God help us. Help us to give to you in worship what you have asked; the obedience of our hearts. God help us to hear your Word, and to obey your Word; hear your voice, and obey your voice. We pray that you would be glorified in our obeying your voice.
In light of Saul's sin the Lord says, “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me.” Common sense would suggest that one can only regret a decision one makes if the decision results in an outcome other than what was expected or hoped for.
We're supported by and supporting so many others. Humility is seeing and accepting all of that without downplaying any of it. Downplaying or ignoring our accomplishments and strengths doesn't make us humble. It makes us have low self-esteem and an inaccurate view of ourselves as less than others.
Outside of a religious context, humility is defined as being "unselved"—liberated from consciousness of self—a form of temperance that is neither having pride (or haughtiness) nor indulging in self-deprecation.
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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