Don’t Overestimate Yourself

“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”

—SAINT AUGUSTINE

A man’s pride will bring him low, but he who is of a humble spirit will obtain honor.

—Proverbs 29:23

There’s nothing wrong with believing in yourself. I believe it’s important to have a good opinion of yourself because I don’t think Jesus died for us so we could belittle and devalue ourselves. However, the Bible does teach us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, but to judge our abilities soberly, remembering the grace of God (see Romans 12:3).

If we think too highly of ourselves, we will always end up thinking too little of others. Whatever we do well, we must remember God gave us the ability to do it. We should thank Him and never think less of someone else because their abilities are different than ours.

I like to think of myself as what I call an “everything-nothing”: everything in Christ and nothing in myself, or as the Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ” (see Philippians 4:13) and “Apart from Him I can do nothing” (see John 15:5).

Having a humble view of ourselves and being willing to serve others whose talents may not be as obvious is the simple approach to life. Jesus certainly lived a simple, enjoyable life and yet, His entire focus was on serving His heavenly Father as well as those He came into contact with each day.

A proud person ends up struggling a lot in relationships. They are judgmental and can easily find fault with others. They are not likely to succeed for long, because as the writer of Proverbs tells us, pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall (see Proverbs 16:18).

When we have a proper attitude toward ourselves, it is the beginning of enjoying peace of mind. When we have peace of mind, we can truly begin to enjoy life.