MMM - 6.1.15 - A Positive Attitude Part 1

If you have turned on the TV lately, read a newspaper or even just had a conversation with friends, I am confident that you have come to the same conclusion that I have; we are living in a pretty depressing world.  There are very few heart-warming news segments anymore.  Most of what we hear or read includes shootings, drugs, natural disasters, wars and stalemates in Washington, DC.

As a result, it is often difficult to have a positive attitude and outlook.  So many things can easily seem out of our control and it usually doesn’t take long before our cup doesn’t even look half full.  Nevertheless, I’m crazy enough to think we CAN do something about our outlook, so I’m going to be sharing my ideas with you for the next few weeks in my MMM. 

The first thing I think we each need to do is look inward.  In other words, I think we need to begin to love ourselves.  I believe that low self esteem is rampant in our culture because we are always getting bombarded with how the world thinks we should look, eat, act, dress and respond and it is next to impossible to be everything to everyone and as a result, we don’t think very highly of ourselves.

Now don’t get me wrong; I don’t think we all need to be narcissists who walk around thinking we are superior to everyone else.  But I think that to begin to see our cup as half full instead of half empty, we first have to love ourselves for who we are today.

Mark 12:31 tells us that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.  So we can’t even begin to love others if we haven’t learned to love ourselves.

Many things can affect our self-esteem.  A bad home life growing up, a loss of a friendship or a relationship, being rejected by someone can cause us to have low self-esteem, or maybe we aren’t the most attractive person physically and that can cause us to not feel good about ourselves.

One of our most basic needs is to feel significant. To know we are loved. To realize that we have value and we matter to someone.  But the problem is that we often look to people - parents, teachers, husband/wife and friends for the validation of our worth and that usually ends in disappointment.

We need to build our self-worth on what God says about us.  Read these words in Isaiah 43:1-4: “But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.  O Israel, the one who formed you says, ‘Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.  I have called you by name; you are mine.  When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.  When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.  For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.  I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.  Others were given in exchange for you.  I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me.  You are honored, and I love you.’”

Did you catch that?  The Lord loves you. He redeemed you. He calls you by name.   Why? Because you are precious and honored in His sight.  In Proverbs 3:15, God tells us that we are “more precious than rubies….” God holds us in high esteem. He finds us valuable.

Instead of watching that TV show filled with negativities, pick up God’s love letter to you.  Instead of picking up that trashy novel, read the account of how God sacrificed His only Son just for you.  Instead of comparing your life with someone else’s, give thanks to Him for making you just the way you are; because when we compare we usually contrast their strengths with our weaknesses…and we will lose every time we do it.

Do you want to start seeing your cup as at least half full?  Begin to see yourself through God’s eyes because you are precious and honored in His sight!