Wednesday; August 25

Have you heard about “Imposter Syndrome”? Imposter syndrome describes someone who doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments (often attributing their success to luck); then often takes it to another level – fearing being found out and labeled a fraud. It’s almost like low self-esteem on steroids. Not only do these folks lack confidence, but they also have the constant nagging fear that someone will discover they aren’t as good as they have been portrayed to be and their world will come down in a humiliating collapse.

I am still processing through my thoughts on where I believe this should fall on the psychological scale of diagnosis, but I can see how some people struggle with this. They are probably also the ones who are hard to compliment because they deflect accolades and internally dismiss praise.

While this may or may not be a clinical condition, I do believe it exists; so what can we do about low self esteem or lacking self-confidence (whether we call it “Imposter Syndrome” or not)? First, we need to be objective about our talents. God has blessed each one of us with talents (see Matthew 25 for a detailed description). When we are truthful to ourselves – and have a belief in God – we will trust that He has given us the gifts we have. Additionally, our acknowledgement can be reinforced by David’s praise to God, “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14). This passage is often applied to our physical nature, but I believe it describes us emotionally and spiritually as well. When God created us, He didn’t just make our bodies, He gave us an intellect as well.

We should not dismiss God’s work in us through a misguided attempt at humility. Let’s give Him the credit for creating us and let’s accept the credit for utilizing His gifts in us.

Think About It!

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