Showing You Care For Only $19 A Month–Throw It Out There Thursday, 27 February 2020

(Throw It Out There Thursday is a careful analysis of current situations and may be offensive to those who cannot think for themselves and cause them to curl up in the fetal position. Reader discretion is advised.)

We see these ads multiple times from different organizations every day. And NO! I am not against any of these organizations who run these ads. Their work is closer to the work of the Kingdom of God than many church programs and ministries. However, do wonder about a couple of things. Why $19 a month? And does $19 a month really show you care when you’re in a nice, comfortable home or driving a really nice car all while compromising your integrity?

Granted, they do a great job at pulling at our heart strings when showing us pictures of things like abused animals. Don’t get me wrong–I am against the abuse of animals. But I am also against the abuse of humans. They show the worst conditions that some animals live in. BUT. . .for only $19 a month you can change it AND get this limited edition T-Shirt that shows you care.

But what about unborn children? Why don’t we see ads of children being aborted because someone doesn’t want to be a parent, or because the child may have a birth defect, or because the child is the wrong gender, or simply because they changed their mind about being a parent? If we, as a nation, really care about the neglected, abused and abandoned, then $19 a month for a magazine subscription, a T-Shirt or a throw doesn’t cut the mustard when THE MOST VULNERABLE are allowed to be discarded like yesterday’s trash.

Here’s my point–$19 a month, just pennies a day will NOT change our culture as long as an unborn child isn’t protected. An expectant mother who uses Meth is arrested for abuse. But, if the day before she went to an abortion clinic to have an abortion, it’s OK. I think not. If you feel like you are a better a better person for wearing that T-Shirt or wrapping up with that blanket, go right ahead. But it takes more than $19 a month to really care. Think about James 1:27

True spirituality that is pure in the eyes of our Father God is to make a difference in the lives of the orphans, and widows in their troubles, and to refuse to be corrupted by the world’s values.

(The Passion Translation)

If $19 a month, just pennies a day makes you think you really care–then you have been corrupted by the world’s values.

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Is It Ego, Or Is It Self-Esteem?

In midst of all the chaos of recent weeks, I found myself thinking about self esteem and ego.  Perhaps it came out of my grieving the loss of my Mother and my deep concern for my Dad.  Perhaps it’s the reality that in about a week and a half we will be moving into a new home, serving 2 churches while leaving behind what I feel is unfinished work–but also leaving behind great friends and encouragers.  Whatever the cause, I know God wants me to write.  Turn of all electronic devices, return your trays and seats to the upright position and buckle your seat belts for take-off.

Contrary to a few would say, I don’t have that big of an ego–but I regularly battle my own self-esteem.  It is not as bad as it was when I was growing up.  But even after my first marriage, I still struggled with self-esteem.  I could say it was because of how some treated me–but that’s a cop-out.  I refuse to play the victim card.  And it wasn’t until I was 47, when my self-esteem completely crashed and burned, that God took me on a journey to see myself differently–than others saw me or how I even saw myself.

Since that time I find myself recognizing low self-esteem in others–and a new clarity about those with an ego problem.  In church you see both, but rarely, if ever, is it acknowledged.  Well, here is the epiphany I had about self-esteem versus ego.

Ego is all about self-importance.  Self-Esteem is all about value and worth!

Ego is that over-inflated sense of how important a person thinks they are.  Right now I have a couple of pictures in my mind of people I’ve encountered while here.  That sense of Importance focuses on the container–not the source.  They see themselves are being more important than others–and in the church–more important than the work of the Kingdom of God.  They push themselves into other conversations and run over anyone who dares to challenge them.  Ego equals Importance.

On the other hand, Self-Esteem is the recognition of your value and worth, to the One who created you.  HE has deemed and declared your worth, through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.  Jesus deemed and declared your worth by giving up the glory of heaven for a dirty diaper; and ultimately by His willingness, and insistence, to die on that Cross.  It is about recognizing your value as you live your life in Christ.  Those with the EGO accuse those of us who recognize our worth in Christ as being arrogant.  Talk about the kettle calling the pot black.

Ego is about seeing yourself as important.  Healthy Self-Esteem is seeing the worth that God sees in you–and accepting that His value of you comes fully alive in you as you become fully alive in Jesus.  Nothing is wrong with having Self-Esteem–don’t let the enemy make you feel guilty.  When you say you have no value or worth you are calling God a liar–and that, my friends, is NOT a good thing to do.  God’s image is in you–even if buried under years and mountains of bad choices (that means SIN).  Only the Creator, our FATHER, knows how to restore His image.  After all, He made you and knows you better than others know you–or you even know yourself.

Let me end this with Romans 12:3, from a new translation I recently came across.  It is known as The Passion Translation and it goes like this:

God has given me grace to speak a warning about pride. I would ask each of you to be emptied of self-promotion and not create a false image of your importance. Instead, honestly assess your worth by using your God-given faith as the standard of measurement, and then you will see your true value with an appropriate self-esteem.

God gives you value–He says, long before that commercial ever said it–because YOU are worth it!