When was the last time you felt foolish…or embarrassed…or humiliated? Pick one. It probably hasn’t been that long ago. You may have felt shame as well.

All those labels try to attach themselves to us when we’ve done something, or been blamed for something that threatens our self-image.  Our self-esteem: Something the world works very hard to build up and then tear down over and over.

You constantly hear the concept of self-esteem thrown around. “We need to build our child’s self-esteem.” Doesn’t that actually mean that we are trying to make our child see his identity as something he must maintain by himself?

This is never what the Father intended. We aren’t meant to have to work so hard to keep up an image of who we think we should be.  But back to those words again…embarrassed, humiliated, foolish…aren’t those just words that describe our feelings when our carefully designed self-image is threatened?

If we knew who we really were, would we be inclined to be so concerned about our image? If we recognized that we are heirs to the King would we be as sensitive about what people think? If we constantly evaluate life through the lens of self-esteem and reputation we miss the point.  Nothing…nothing we could ever say or do will make us more God’s child or less God’s child.

Our identity is secure. We are who He says we are. The Father has determined our value and nothing can change it.  We are His and He determined that we were worth His Son’s blood. We don’t need self-esteem and we don’t need to feel shame that we don’t measure up.

Psalm 71:1 says “In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed.”

We need to rejoice that we have been redeemed and that God calls us His beloved children. We have no need of anyone else’s opinion.

So much of the Proverbs are directed at the power of the tongue. If only we could get it in our heads that words are powerful. God created the universe with words and He tells us throughout the Scriptures that our words also contain power. But people use words so carelessly. We speak things we don’t mean, we say things we regret.

Proverbs 18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” And yet we sling words around so carelessly, never considering the consequences.  We can cause so much damage to another person without ever laying a finger on them.  What would it be like if we allowed God to teach us to control our tongues?  What would our families be like?  What would our churches be like?

How different things would be if we could give encouragement instead of put-downs… comforting words instead of sarcasm. If only we could respond with love instead of anger and impatience.  How different life would be.

God’s Word has two major themes that are so simple. The first is “come” and the second is “go.”

He asks us to come to him, first to be saved and then for relationship. He doesn’t have a long checklist of things we need to do to be saved. We don’t have to pre-qualify. We just have to “come.”  To believe that Jesus is who He says He is. It doesn’t matter what stage of life we are in or what our past looks like. We don’t have to clean up our act. We don’t have to have all the answers. We just have to “come” and we will be made new.

If this is true….what are we waiting for?

God’s second theme is “go.”   As our response to God’s willingness to love us unconditionally and save us, He asks us to go and tell others so they can experience eternity with Him as well. Again, God doesn’t have a list of qualifications we must meet before we can answer the call to “go.” He uses the young and old.

Are you young?  “But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak.” (Jeremiah 1:7)

Are you…not so young?  “The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.  They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green.” (Psalm 92:12-14)

He uses people from every class and culture. He doesn’t need to see our college diploma. He doesn’t need references.  Yes, there are certain areas of ministry where some degree of training is helpful.  But you don’t need training to go to your family or your neighbor. You just need your story about how God loved you enough to send His son to take your place. You can be used on the day you receive salvation right up until you breathe your last breath before being ushered into God’s eternal kingdom.

If this is true…what are we waiting for?