Self-Boasting and Self-Loathing

We are all somewhere on the spectrum of loving ourselves or hating ourselves. Perhaps we swing back and forth from day to day.

Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village, makes the case that both of these things take value away from the cross.

If I’m always thinking about how great I am, I’m not going to have any need for God’s grace and mercy.

On the other end, if I’m always hating myself and feeling guilty for the sins I’ve committed, then what I’m really saying is that my wrongs are too big for even God to make right. I’m minimizing the cross and have a low view of God’s ability to forgive.

Whether I’m self-boasting or self-loathing, the problem is that I’m thinking of myself and not God.

Are we proud of our accomplishments? Have we forgotten that all of our successes are like filthy rags next to God’s accomplishments? In making ourselves high, are we making God low?

Are we sick and tired of dwelling on our failures? Have we forgotten that God’s grace (extended to us through Jesus’ death on the cross) is much bigger than we could ever imagine? In doubting God’s ability and desire to forgive us, have we ignored the punishment that Jesus endured on our behalf and are now trying to punish ourselves through guilt and condemnation?

May we stop our boasting and our loathing and realize that we have been fixing our eyes on ourselves, not God.