Integrity Above Reputation
Have you ever struggled with your self-esteem? Have you ever had that nagging feeling in you that just kind of tells you that you’re worthless and that you don’t really mean anything to anyone?
I have… I always worried about what people thought of me. I would try to change who I was and the things that I believed to make “friends.” Why? I fell into believing the lie that I wasn’t good enough… and that I had something to prove to everyone. I worried about my reputation…
I first went to see a counselor probably about a month before the end of last semester. I shared with him my struggles… and how self-worth is something that I struggle with. I don’t remember everything he told me, but one thing that I did remember and will never forget is what he challenged me with…
“Philip, you’ve struggled with your self-worth and your self-esteem. You’ve fought through the temptation to believe that you’re worthless and that you don’t mean anything to anyone… Philip, you’ve been focusing on your reputation. But what you haven’t yet come to realize is that your reputation isn’t something that you decide. Other people decide your reputation. They decide what they’re going to think about you or say about you… you can’t change that. The only thing that you can make a difference with is your integrity. YOU are the one who decides, makes, or breaks your integrity. Stop worrying about what other people think about you… focus on your integrity before Christ. That’s all that really matters.”
I’ll never forget what my counselor told me that day. It has brought me a long way in being able to be honest and open with the people I love most. And it has brought me closer to God in knowing that He loves me the same no matter what I think or what other people think. I want to encourage those of you struggling with the same things I struggle with to remember this one thing…
Integrity before and above your reputation.
Published on 21 Feb 2007 at 8:16 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Real Life Issues, Thoughts.
good thoughts, friend…..
hoping to catch up with you really soon! =D
Olivia on 21 Feb 2007 at 9:44 am.