The greatest need of any person is
to be known and loved. The cry is strong; the human desire is deep. "I
want to be somebody. I want my life to count." Closely related to the
feeling of worth is the perception of who we are. When we esteem something or
someone, we highly value it or the person. To esteem ourselves is to have high
regard for ourselves. Many of the problems in human relations stem from a
person's lack of self-esteem.
[However,]... our worth and value is
given. We are called not to muster it up within ourselves, but to receive the
gift given to us, a gift of the grace of God in Jesus Christ. God has declared
our value. Our value is not rooted in self-esteem, based only on ourselves. Our
value is discovered in grace, which is rooted in the greatness and graciousness
of God...
God's love makes it possible to know
we are valued. We cannot put ourselves down or debase
ourselves. We can know our true worth because we are children of God. Our
esteem is rooted in the amazing grace of God. Our esteem is grace-esteem.
-- H. Eddie Fox in Grace-Esteem
#2998
Only problem is, Eddie Foxx doesn't believe that applies to everyone. In his world, gays and lesbians are not worthy of God's grace. Don't believe me, ask him how he votes on it each time at General Conference.
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