Mirror, Mirror

Some years ago I was listening to a woman on the radio who was discussing her book.

She was a Christian woman who believed that as a society we should be teaching self-worth to our children, instead pushing the agenda of self-esteem.

I was interested in her insights, for what she described is an excellent illustration of their differences.

Self-esteem is like looking the the mirror.  One looks in the mirror to see himself or herself.  Very rarely is the person looking in the mirror concerned about what happens around them.  And for many, a mirror may never seem big enough.

Self-worth, on the other hand, is like looking through a glass window.  One looks through a window to see what is on the other side.  But the beauty of glass is that many times, when the light is right, one can see their own reflection.

Thus, self-esteem is all about me.  Self-worth is about how and who I am with everything around me.

Which brings me to what I found ironic and juxtaposed. (Does that even make any sense)?

I was flipping through the weekly ads that come through the mail and found an ad for THIS.  The 3rd Annual Dove Self-Esteem Weekend.

Which, so very ironically, is the SAME weekend as General Conference.

And I am quite sure one will offer self-esteem. Complete with a mirror hanging on the wall.

The other, however, will quietly, yet powerfully remind me of who I really am.

That I am just one spiritual generation away as a daughter of God.

And if I'm quiet enough, that glass window of self-worth will remind me whose image I need engraven on my countenance.