There are painful periods of life when it seems that people do not understand us.  Our family and our friends seem distant and indifferent to the very fact that we exist.  We are quite sure a whispering campaign is going on behind our backs to discredit us before the world.  In this mood of supposed rejection, we lash out at folk and further complicate our desires for happiness and acceptance.  In the process of trying to get people to like us, we come across as pushy and overbearing.  It's terrible when we do not feel secure in the opinion others have of us.

There is nothing more redeeming for our sagging self-concept than the gospel.  The good news from our Lord Himself is that in Him we are "light to the world" and "salt of the earth."  With these kinds of credentials we need not be inhibited about who we are.  Our spiritual task is so great and our missionary energy is so necessary we do not have time to worry about what others think.  Had our Lord stopped to analyze every criticism along the way, He would never have made it to Calvary.  It takes a healthy self-image to bear a cross.  Only as we feel good about ourselves can we truly live redemptively and sacrificially.  To constructively love ourselves is a prerequisite for giving and receiving love from others.