Self-image & Self-esteem

Self image is how you see yourself. This may be how you see yourself physically or your opinion of who and what you are which is normally called self concept. It is important as it affects your self esteem and confidence.

Self Esteem is how you feel about yourself. Image is about how you see yourself and how you believe others see you. They are closely connected because if you have a poor opinion of yourself your self esteem will be low. Read about how to feel good about yourself here.

A person's self image is the mental picture, generally of a kind that is quite resistant to change, that depicts not only details that are potentially available to objective investigation by others (height, weight, hair color, sex, I.Q. score, etc.), but also items that have been learned by that person about himself or herself, either from personal experiences or by internalizing the judgments of others. A simple definition of a person's self image is their answer to this question - "What do you believe people think about you?" A more technical term for self image that is commonly used by social and cognitive psychologists is self-schema. Like any schema, self-schemas store information and influence the way we think and remember. For example, research indicates that information which refers to the self is preferentially encoded and recalled in memory tests, a phenomenon known as "Self-Referential Encoding" (Rogers et al. 1977). As it is a relative objective measure, it is generally measured against crowd leaders, such as celebrities [1].

According to the self-image proponents: sexual promiscuity, suicide, crime, abortion, depression, poor mental health, stress, unhappiness, lack of success in life, the inability to love God and to accept His free gift of salvation, the inability to love others, and the inability to love self, are all the results of a poor self-image or low self-esteem. We are living in a world which always forces us to boost up our self image and self esteem in different ways.
 List things you like about yourself - include appearance, personality and skills
 Change negative thoughts to positive ones by focusing on the positive and forgetting the negative things that happen to you.
 Remember compliments and note them down
 Try the powerful method of self-hypnosis: Building your self esteem - self hypnosis download
 It will really help you!
 Take yourself less seriously and lighten up!
 Accept criticism constructively so you can move forward and improve yourself
 Don't be limited by your internal image, step outside of it and break free, it doesn't have to control you or keep you down. Acting differently will change how others respond towards you and will help change your attitude towards yourself and your abilities.

The above is in total opposition to what the Scripture teaches us. The fact is that the self-image movement is neither Biblical nor scientific. It is a fad that will eventually pass away after doing incredible damage in our society and unfortunately in all too many churches. By God’s grace and the truth of His Word, believers need not be taken in by Satan’s lies. We can choose to live by the infallible, never changing Word of God! The basic teaching in Pop-Psychology today is that people in general have a low self-image, self-esteem, self-worth, self-love, etc.

The power of the human mind to deceive itself seems infinite. We need to pray "Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way" Psalms 139:23,24 often! One study of two-hundred criminals revealed that not one of those criminals believed he was evil. Each criminal thought of himself as basically a good person even when planning a crime (The Washington Star, Aug. 15, 1976).

2 Tim. 3:16, 17 and 2 Pet. 1:3 explains that God’s Word is sufficient to equip us to be godly people, and that everything concerning life and godliness is found in His Word. This being the case, we must ask the question: "Why is there no mention of self-esteem in all of the Scriptures? The answer to that question surely lies in the fact that our relationship with God is not based on our righteousness or our worth to Him, but upon His grace Titus 3:4-7. Rather, we are sinners who can do nothing to impress or please God; Rom. 3:23; 5:6-8.

God’s view of our worth (self-image): “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” Jn: 3:16. Job had struggle with his self-worth Job: 9:21. We find our significance not in ourselves, but in our relationship to God; Jm: 4:10; Mich: 6:8.

Knowing God is what makes life meaningful. Eph: 1:17-19; “… may give the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better…..” We are not to fall into a trap of relying on self; 2 Cori: 1:8-9; “……we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” We should not allow pride to enter into a view of self; Psa: 10:4; Isa: 2:11-12. “We do not classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise;” 2 Cori: 10:12. Our self image and self worth has to come from the Lord who made us and fashioned us individually, and gave us His breath.

Websites:
1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_image, Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia: “Self image” (accessed 3 May 2010)
2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-esteem ,Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia: “Self-esteem” (accessed 3 May 2010)
3. www.more-selfesteem.com › Self Esteem “Self Image and Esteem” (accessed 3 May 2010)
4.The Biblical View of Self-Imagewww.svchapel.org/resources/.../573-the-biblical-view-of-self-image - Cached
We can choose to live by the infallible, never changing Word of God! Few would ... The UnBiblical View of Self-Image, Self-Worth, Self-Esteem and Self-Love ...
5.Self-esteem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-esteem - Cached
Synonyms or near-synonyms of self-esteem include: self-worth, self-regard, self- respect, ... To have a high self-esteem is to feel confidently capable for life, or, ...

References:
1. Jay E.Adams, ‘The Christian Counselor’s Manual, ‘The Practice of Nouthetic Counseling’ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973, p.144-145; 211)

2. John G. Kruis, ‘Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling; (Grand rapids: Baker Books, Third edition, p. 169-170)

3. David G. Benner & Peter C. Hill, ‘Baker Encyclopaedia of Psychology & Counseling’ Second Edition, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1985, 1999, p.1084-1085)

4. Dr. Larry Crabb, “Effective Biblical Counseling” How Caring Christians can Become Capable Counselors, (Hammersmith: Marshall Pickering, 1985, p. 100-104).

5.The Matthew Henry Study Bible, ‘King James version’ The best of Matthew Henry’s Notes in a Handy One Volume Reference Bible, World Bible Publishers, Inc; 1994, Iowa Falls, U.S.A.

6. David Seeking A Heart Like His, ‘Beth Moore’ Life Way Christian resources, Nashville, Tennessee, 2010, pgs: 206-210.
7. Jay E. Adams, ‘Critical Stages of Biblical Counseling’ Finishing Well, Breaking Through, Getting Started, (New Jersey: Zondervan, 2002, p.6-7)

8. Jay E. Adams, ‘How to Help People Change’ The Four-step Biblical Process, (Grand rapids: Zondervan, 1986, p. 20-28)

9. John F. MacArthur, JR. Wayne A. Mack & The Master’s College Faculty, ‘Introduction To Biblical Counseling’, “A Basic Guide To The Principles And Practice Of Counseling”(Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers,1994, P. 76-77)

10. Jay E. Adams, ‘Lectures on Counseling’ (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978, p.192-203)

11. The Holy Bible, New King James version, Women of Destiny Bible, “Women Mentoring women Through the Scriptures” A Spirit Filled Life Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, Copyright 1982.