This past week we had the first call in the Ignite Your Life Summer Series. The topic was “Building Christ-Esteem” and it was a truly enlightening. We learned that Christ-esteem removes the barriers that can get in the way when we focus on self-esteem.

Yes, self-esteem is very important, but when it is mis-guided then it can become a very dangerous tool in your life. It is a wise idea to see esteem from God’s eyes and learn to build your Christ-esteem.

What is self-esteem

From Wikepedia

Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect a person’s overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs (for example, “I am competent” or “I am incompetent”) and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame. A person’s self-esteem may be reflected in their behavior, such as in assertiveness, shyness, confidence or caution.

In other words self-esteem has a direct correlation with the way you feel about yourself and it can be presented in a number of ways.

Self-esteem is often related to what a person does as opposed to who she is. As women we have this bad because we value what we do more so than who we are. We want to be the perfect mom and when we are not we feel like failures. We want to always lend a hand to a cause, event, or anything that will show how much we really want to help. We end up so busy that we forget the value of being productive and that being productive means taking care of self.
What would happen if we dared to see ourselves as God does? What would happen if we took the time to search the word and build up our Christ-esteem vs our self-esteem?

Why would we want to do this? Why build up our Christ-esteem as opposed to our self-esteem?

Is there a difference? There can be.

Because so many relate self-esteem to “feelings of worth based on their skills, accomplishments, status, financial resources, or appearance it can lead a person to feel independent and prideful and to indulge in self-worship, which dulls our desire for God. James 4:6 tells us that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” If we only trust in our earthly resources, we will inevitably be left with a sense of worth based on pride. Jesus told us, “You also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’” (Luke 17:10).

Does this mean our esteem is to be low? By no means!

The Bible tells us in Romans 12:3 not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought but it does not say we are not to think highly of ourselves. Think about it. We are made in the Image of WHO….

I think you get the picture!

Why would God want  us to think low of ourselves. To be humble has nothing to do with  low self-esteem.

In one sense, low self-esteem is the opposite of pride. In another sense, low-self-esteem is a form of pride. Some people have low self-esteem because they want people to feel sorry for them, to pay attention to them, to comfort them. Low self-esteem can be a declaration of “look at me” just as much as pride. It simply takes a different route to get to the same destination, that is, self-absorption, self-obsession, and selfishness. Instead, we are to be selfless, to die to self, and to deflect any attention given to us to the great God who created and sustains us.

It is important to build Christ-esteem for quite a few reasons:

1. It takes self totally out of the picture
2. It places the emphasis on Christ as the Center of your Joy
3. It allows you to see your worth in God’s eyes with humility and awe
4. It gives you good grounding for making solid decision based on godly wisdom and logic
5. It takes you to the point of wanting to be in the perfect will of God since your focus is properly aligned!

Your self-esteem needs to rest in Christ because the essence of who you are dwells with Him:

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)

When you place your esteem in the right place then you know that you will not become boastful or full of pride. You know that your intentions are in the right place and you are not doing anything for vain glory! You have confidence to move forward without fear or shame. You can move forward without being bothered by what others think about you.

Christ-esteem is what will drive you to move forward in courageous confidence in the call on your life!

Are you ready to build your Christ-esteem? How do you plan to do this?

We are covering the book of the month, Personality Plus: How to Understand Others by Understanding Yourself. In part one of the discussion we did a general overview of the personalities, their strengths and weaknesses. Today let’s get a little deeper into the good and bad of each of the personalities.

None of the four personalities can be specifically described as positive or negative, because they each have upsides and downsides. The book makes it clear that the characteristics are for observing and identifying, rather than judging.

In taking a closer look at the four personalities we can get a view of the good and the bad.

• A Choleric is focused on getting things done, but can run rough-shod over others. They are decisive and stubborn.

• A Melancholy is a highly talented person, they have brilliant ideas, although sometimes they can paralyze themselves with over-analysis. Lists and “doing things the right way” are characteristics of this personality type.

• A Sanguine gets on well with people and can get others excited about issues, but cannot always be relied upon to get things done. They love interacting with others and play the role of the entertainer in group interactions. They have a tendency to over-promise and under-deliver.

• A Phlegmatic is neutral – they tend not to actively upset people, but their indifference may frustrate people. They try not to make decisions, and generally go for the status quo. They care about people and harmony.

As you read through each of the personalities did you see yourself. What good parts did you see? What about the bad?

In business we have to be very careful how we behave and I guess you could say the same about life as well. This is why tapping into your personality is so very important. When you don’t get YOU, no one else will. You may risk being taken the wrong way, causing harm to your reputation or worse.

Knowing how you tick is important. Wouldn’t you agree?

Here are today’s questions:

1. Can you see your personality in your business?  Why or why not?
2. How do you think God wants us to use our personality in the business setting?

Today I want to encourage those of you reading this who have not picked up Personality Plus: How to Understand Others by Understanding Yourself to get a copy today. It is a great reference tool and a good way your personality as is pertains to business and your life overall.

Looking forward to reading your comments.

This month’s Integration Book Club Pick is one that will help you discover your personality, how it relates to others and how it can help you in your quest for integration.

While Personality Plus: How to Understand Others by Understanding Yourself is not a business book, it can help you find a way to connect with your market in a more unique way. Knowing your personality is also to valuable in life. Your personality is who you are. If you get that then you can design a lifestyle that fits who you are.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will talk more in depth about Personality Plus, our personalities and integrated balance.

If you are on the Integration Weekly subscriber list then you received this month’s discussion material. If not then I suggest you sign up for the ezine because that is how you get a hold the discussion material for the book of the month.

Today I think the best way to start is to actually talk about the assessment you took.

What did you think of what personality assessment revealed about you? Was it you? Were you surprised? How did it help you?

For those who did not get the discussion guide or the profile descriptions, here are the type of personality discussed in Florence’s book:

The ‘Personality Plus’ personality profiles

• Choleric: This is the commander-type. Cholerics are dominant, strong, decisive, stubborn and even arrogant.

• Melancholy: This is the mental-type. Their typical behavior involves thinking, assessing, making lists, evaluating the positives and negatives, and general analysis of facts.

• Sanguine: This is the social-type. They enjoy fun, socializing, chatting, telling stories – and are fond of promising the world, because that’s the friendly thing to do.

• Phlegmatic: This is the flat-type. They are easy going, laid back, nonchalant, unexcitable and relaxed. Desiring a peaceful environment above all else

Each personality has its strengths and weaknesses and Personality Plus covers each of these points very well. I know some people who relish in their weaknesses, seeing it as more of a way to be a bully, or lazy, or depressed based on their personality type. However, this should not be.

For the Faith-filled business owner, the goal should be to work out those weaknesses and to draw on the strengths of your personality. There is never an excuse for mediocrity in the life of a Child of God. To enjoy using the weak parts of your personality to manipulate, or find reason not to do something, is simply unacceptable.

Let’s explore this a little further.

Do you think that the weak parts of you should shine through in your business? Why or why not?

What are the dangers of using those weaknesses in the wrong way in business?

How do you use your strengths?

I cannot wait to see what you have to say about today’s book club discussion!