Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Self-esteem and Self-worth

These concepts derive from each other and can be interchanged. Self-worth refers to man's value, whereas his self-esteem is the expression of this value towards the external world.

What is a person's self-esteem?

Self-esteem is a form of spiritual state, a spiritual infrastructure, on which a person's spiritual forces develop. It is also an attribute, an urge and a unique creative energy, which may be either negative or positive. Positive energy ra5B4ises self-esteem, thereby encouraging positive development. Negative energy, in contrast, lowers self-esteem and in so doing, inhibits or arrests this positive development and encourages a negative one. It will be easier to better understand the meaning of self-esteem if we view it from our own perspective and from God's.

From our perspective, it is the level of self-esteem we perceive ourselves to have, by which we appreciate and present ourselves to the outside world, and by which we also act and react. This is also the level at which we appreciate the other. As this level tends to shift, it should be seen as subjective.

From God's perspective, this is a person's true self-esteem and its level is steady. This level follows from Gods declaration that man was created in His image. It is this level which the Divine attempts to persuade us to accept as proper and to act in accordance with. Our divine purpose, as well as His expectations for its realization and implementation, is also based on this level. This level is always higher, sometimes far higher than our subjective self-esteem. In other words: Our perceived self-worth is significantly lower than the true one.

Abraham Adar, the author of the book "Man and the realization of his purpose", which guides man to realize his purpose through decipheri381ng the Pentateuch's divine wisdom. Some material from the book as well as additional information is presented in his website.

http://www.adar-publishing.com

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