One psychologist estimates 95 percent of our society has feelings of inferiority.

Low self-worth causes us to feel dissatisfied with other people, ourselves and life. It is the by-product of several factors.

The first is our self-concept, in other words, how we feel about ourselves. One suggestion is to list our characteristics such as abilities, strengths, weaknesses and physical makeup. A negative view could be based on covetousness. That is, wanting what others have that we do not possess.

This may lead to feelings of being deprived which can lead to self-pity or anger at others as well as with God. Worldly pride may cause low self-esteem by wanting to be more important than we actually are. We will never be satisfied with ourselves, because there is always someone who has more and can do more than we can. It is said we live in one of two tents, discontent or content.

The Lord, as our Creator, has given us our physical and emotional being. He gives what He knows is best for us not what we think is best. Have we ever attempted to do something or bought something and become dissatisfied? Perhaps we wish we had never seen it because of the expense and trouble. God knows us before we are born and is fully aware of all our weaknesses and faults. However, He never regrets or ceases to love and want us. If He is satisfied with us, we can be as well.

Another reason for low self-image is that we allow peer pressure to force us to try to live up to others’ expectations. It will not matter what they think if we know how little they actually think about us. The important thing is what God thinks of us. All of His creation is spoken into existence except for man. He is made by the hands of God in His image and is the crown jewel of creation. He values us so much that He gives Heaven’s greatest gift as our Savior. God assigns angels to be our guardians, fills us with His Holy Spirit to empower us and gives us the Scriptures to guide us. The Lord is preparing a place for us where we will spend eternity with Him. We are loved with an everlasting love and nothing can or will ever change that.

The third reason for feeling inferior is our self-esteem. This is the evaluation of our worth or significance to life. The world’s philosophy is that bigger is better, having more is being successful and first place gets all the recognition. The Lord has given us natural and spiritual gifts, and judges us by our faithfulness.

We should only be in competition with ourselves to grow from good to better to best.

Spiritual pride is to recognize God working through us to accomplish His purpose for our lives. Every one of us can be all God wants us to be.

Our soul is worth more than all of this world’s wealth combined. The Lord wants us more than we want Him. He takes the initiative to come to us knowing we will not come to Him. It is because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, His resurrection and His imminent return to take us home that we truly know how important we are to Him.

STEVE CONWELL, pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church, is heard morning on WFLO and WVHL in “A Thought For Today.” His email address is SteveConwell@outlook.com.