People are always badgering Christians for being ‘too hard on themselves’.
I couldn’t agree more.
As Christians we often think of ourselves as totally wretched, lacking any intrinsic value outside of our faith. But the problem with this notion is that it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy, sending us into endless cycles of fall>rescue behavior.
If we truly believe that deep down we are genuinely worthless people wrapped in a thin coating of grace, we set ourselves up for failure. The odds are that when crunch time comes (stress, relationship problems, etc) we are more likely to make bad decisions because we genuinely believe we are wicked at heart.
In other words, if we have a deeply negative self-image, this will (mis)direct our behavior at those crucial moments of decision, those moments of weakness when we most need to be reminded of our innate value and goodness.
For instance, if my faith leads me to the conclusion that: ‘I'm basically a louse, but God loves me anyways,’ I’m holding a theological view that is more likely to allow me to re-offend than if I really believe: ‘I may be fallen but I’m essentially good, because at heart I’m made in the image of our loving God.’
This is why I suspect that our critics are right; Christians are ‘too hard on themselves’ if the Fall eclipses the innate goodness of Creation. And besides, if we were intrinsically worthless, why God would go through all that trouble of becoming man, suffering and dying on a cross?
Perhaps as part of our spiritual practice, we should seriously examine how our theology informs our self-image, and discern whether or not this is helping or hurting our call to holiness.
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