Self-Esteem - Are You Morally Straight But Mentally Crooked?

— by Rev. Ike

You are not going to get anything that you don't really believe you deserve. It is not enough in life to live morally and ethically. You must also be mentally straight. You must have a positive self-image in order to receive the blessings of life! I am often asked the question, "Why Do The Righteous Suffer?" In other words, "Why do seemingly good people suffer?"

You can be morally and ethically straight and correct, but if you do not know how to positively relate to your emotions and the processes of your mind, you will suffer.

And this is what happened to
Job in the Biblical story:

Job's children were taken away, his health was taken away, and his wealth was taken away. Why did all these things happen to Job, a righteous man? I ask you, was Job really righteous (meaning right thinking) or was he simply religious?

A Fearful Mind Draws Suffering

Job said, "The thing I greatly feared has come upon me." (Job 3:25) And that is exactly what got Job - "The thing he feared." Just like some of you, you don't know why you feel so bad. But you go around afraid of what might happen; filled with worry and anxieties, you go around with your feelings dragging in the dirt.

It Isn't Enough To Be Moral And Ethical

You must have the correct self-awareness. You must know yourself and learn how to control your thoughts and feelings. This is what I mean by 'righteous'. You must be mentally straight! You have to learn how to lift up your feelings - how to lift up your emotions. Learn to control your own thoughts and feelings and beliefs about yourself. You have to learn to go inside yourself and develop a positive self-image and positive self-esteem.

You Get What You Believe You Deserve

It isn't enough just to be a good person. You must have a proper self-identity. You must believe that you deserve God's goodness. So "Why do good people suffer?" Because they don't believe that they deserve God's goodness. They ask for God's goodness in their prayers, but down deep, they don't believe they deserve it. If you don't believe you deserve God's goodness, what do you believe then? At the subconscious level are you believing you deserve the opposite of good? Maybe that is why you aren't getting the good you desire.

Nothing Can Come To
You Unless You Draw It

Many times, things happen to good religious people and people who think they are righteous, and they don't understand why. They say, "Now why would this person do me out of this? Why do these 'things' happen to me?" If somebody is always doing you out of something, watch out. It means that somewhere in your subconscious psychology, there is some kind of negative belief. It could be the belief that you are not deserving. Nothing can come to you unless you believe you deserve it, and nothing can go from you unless you believe you don't deserve it.

You are not going to get anything that you don't really believe you deserve

And if you do appear to get something that you really don't think you deserve - you think it's too good for you - don't worry, it will slip away. Somebody else will come along and take it off your hands. So it is very important that you think you deserve the best.

You Are A Child Of God

Your belief about yourself should be based upon your knowledge of who and what you are in God, and who and what God is in you. You deserve the best because you are a child of God.

Say This Affirmation and Believe It:

Say to yourself, "I deserve the best because I am a child of God." And when you pray, believe this. Believe you deserve all of God's goodness. Don't just say empty words. Affirm to yourself: "I deserve the best because I am a child of God. I don't deserve the best because I'm better than anybody else. I deserve the best because I am God's child and I deserve all of God's goodness."

These affirmations will help you to get 'right with yourself', and when you are right with yourself, everything else will be right with you.

Dr. Frederick Eikerenkoetter
better known as Rev. Ike
July 2008