3 November | Youth
«Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.» 2 Corinthians 3:5
I became interested in a girl at the same time that the church heartthrob liked her too. Then the loser in me took over: “I already lost! He is more handsome than me.” I asked the girl to go out with me, and she accepted. In the middle of the conversation, the boy was mentioned. And she made the following comment: “He is very handsome, but never speaks!”
It took a while for me to understand that there are different ways of looking at life. If someone does not like me, it will be their loss. If I do not like myself, who will? If I do not love myself, I will not be lovable or loved.
History teaches that God loves to use those who are not very sure of themselves. He has a scheme of making His plans fulfilled with the least qualified people. He can do things through us that others say are impossible. Since there are no pills to strengthen self-esteem, I decided to adopt a philosophy of life that helped me a lot to reinforce my qualities and become aware of my limitations. This philosophy has three steps:
1. Don't believe everything your admirers say about you. People who like me tend to be more tolerant and accommodating towards me. When someone “inflates my ego,” I remember that I am not all that is being said about me. Believe me: knowing what your limitations are is fundamental to dealing with others in a balanced way.
2. Don't believe everything your critics say about you. People who do not like me tend to be cruel in their assessment. Those who do not know us well can prejudge us, just by hearing about us. We do not always have the chance to change that. Do not be guided by the malice of critics. They do not know who you really are; much less love you.
3. Believe everything God says about you. Listen to what the Lord says about you. Do you know what God thinks about your life? For Him, you are special! Therefore, He chose you and equipped you for a noble mission. You are the most precious target of His love. He believes in you.