"Someone You Love"

Earlier this evening, I saw something that warmed my heart. A student was struggling with self-esteem issues. She was having a hard time with her paper, and she felt stupid and thought her paper was garbage. But a teacher sat or knelt down before her (I didn't have a clear view) and asked her to imagine something.

Imagine if someone you love brought this paper to you, asking for your advice or help. You know that the person you love worked very hard on this paper, but has been struggling with it. What would you tell that person? Would you tell that person that they're stupid and that their paper is garbage? No, of course not. You would never, ever say that to someone you love. So, don't say it to yourself.

There are people I know who need to hear that, and I'm one of them. I don't always feel like my papers are garbage, but I sometimes feel like I am. I've called myself things I've never called anyone else, even those I have strongly disliked. I have been far harsher with myself than I ever am with anyone else. I frequently find that I ought to exercise more self-love, and I am not alone in that.

But another message that's just as heart-warming, if not more so, is that God loves us far more than we love ourselves, far more than we love anyone. There are times when He needs to correct us, and those times happen almost literally all the time, but while He corrects us, He is rarely as critical of us as we are of ourselves. He doesn't insult us or berate us as we berate ourselves. He loves us. When He corrects us, He does so out of love and out of a sincere desire for us to become our best selves and live up to the potential He sees in us. God doesn't call people names or insult their efforts. He loves, comforts, guides, and encourages them. Everyone on Earth is "someone He loves," and His attitude and behavior toward us is a perfect reflection of that fact.

God is not going to be too hard on us, and He doesn't want us to be too hard on ourselves. We are all human, and we all have a lot of room to grow, but we also have plenty of time to work toward perfection, and God knows that we're not going to get there overnight. Thankfully, at least for now, God rewards effort rather than results. If we try and keep trying, God will bless us and keep blessing us until we reach a point where we no longer need His blessings, a point at which we will have become perfect. Until then, God wants to encourage us, not discourage us, and He wants us to encourage, not discourage, ourselves.