Listen: 68 Question 4

Let’s look first at shyness and self-esteem.  Shyness is sometimes associated with having a low self-esteem, but that is not necessarily true.  Some people are very shy about meeting or speaking to other people, but have no problem with their esteem.  Some shy people can even have a very high self-esteem.  People who are shy have a much harder time interacting with people that they don’t know very well.  However, we should never use our shyness as an excuse for not speaking to others about the Lord Jesus Christ.  When the Lord came to Moses to tell him to speak to the children of Israel, Moses did not want to do it.  We read in Exodus 4:10-12, “And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.   And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.”  Moses exhibited shyness and maybe a low self-esteem and resisted the Lord’s command.  The Lord reminded Moses that He made men’s mouths and He could fill Moses’ mouth with the right words to say.  As we continue reading in Exodus, we see that even after the Lord promised Moses that He would fill his mouth with words, Moses still refused to obey the Lord.  Let’s read Exodus 4:13-14, “And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.”  Because of Moses’ refusal, the Lord eventually turned to his brother, Aaron, to speak to the Israelites.  We can be assured that even though we may be shy or have a low self-esteem, the Lord is still able to use us.  Listen to this wonderful promise in Psalms 81:10  “…open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

Probably a bigger issue is someone whose self-esteem is too high; people who are proud and arrogant.  The Apostle Paul warns us in Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”  The Lord is not able to use us when our thoughts are of our own worth.  We are told in James 4:10, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”  Even shy people and people with low self-esteem can still be proud.  We all need to take heed and humble ourselves in the sight of God.

Jealousy is such a hindrance to the believer.  It occurs when we have our eyes fixed on ourselves and our own desires.  We tend to look at others and become bitter and resentful when we perceive they are in a better position than we are.  The Bible tells us we should be satisfied with the most basic things in life.  We read in 1 Timothy 6:8, “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”  Contentment will drive out jealousy, but jealousy will also drive out contentment.  There is absolutely no reason for a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ to be jealous.  We are told in Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”  The Lord is with His people; He will never leave or forsake us.  We should be very content with that.  Do not let jealousy rob you of the precious gifts of the Lord.  With eyes fixed upon Him, we can be content.