self esteem

³For I say, through the grace that has been given to me, to all who are among you: Taste no more than it is necessary to taste, but taste unto sobriety and just as God has distributed a share of the faith to each one.

⁷You are totally beautiful, my love, and there is no blemish in you.

³For if anyone considers himself to be something, though he may be nothing, he deceives himself.

¹⁸For it is not he who commends himself who is approved, but rather he whom God commends.

¹³For you have possessed my temperament. You have supported me from the womb of my mother. ¹⁴I will confess to you, for you have been magnified terribly. Your works are miraculous, as my soul knows exceedingly well.

³For you, there should be no unnecessary adornment of the hair, or surrounding with gold, or the wearing of ornate clothing. ⁴Instead, you should be a hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptibility of a quiet and meek spirit, rich in the sight of God.

¹⁵And he said to them: “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of men. But God knows your hearts. For what is lifted up by men is an abomination in the sight of God.

⁴To lift up the eyes is to enlarge the heart. The lamp of the impious is sin.

¹⁷And the loftiness of men will be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men will be brought low. And the Lord alone shall be exalted, in that day.

⁷And the Lord said to Samuel: “You should not look with favor on his face, nor on the height of his stature. For I have rejected him. Neither do I judge by the appearance of a man. For man sees those things that are apparent, but the Lord beholds the heart.”

⁵All the arrogant are an abomination to the Lord. Even if hand will be joined to hand, he is not innocent. The beginning of a good way is to do justice. And this is more acceptable with God than to immolate sacrifices.

¹¹For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

²Wherever arrogance may be, there too is insult. But wherever humility is, there too is wisdom. ³The simplicity of the just shall direct them, and the rebellion of the perverse will devastate them. ⁴Wealth will not profit in the day of vengeance. But justice shall liberate from death. ⁵The justice of the simple shall direct his way. And the impious will fall in his impiety. ⁶The justice of the upright shall free them. And the iniquitous will be seized by their own treachery. ⁷When the impious man is dead, there will no longer be any hope. And the expectation of the anxious will perish.

⁶But he gives a greater grace. Therefore he says: “God resists the arrogant, but he gives grace to the humble.”

²Wherever arrogance may be, there too is insult. But wherever humility is, there too is wisdom.

¹³The fear of the Lord hates evil. I detest arrogance, and pride, and every wicked way, and a mouth with a double tongue.

¹²The heart of a man is exalted before it is crushed and humbled before it is glorified.

²³Humiliation follows the arrogant. And glory shall uphold the humble in spirit.

¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think over you, says the Lord: thoughts of peace and not of affliction, so that I may give you patience and an end.

⁹Behold, I am instructing you. Be strengthened, and be steadfast. Do not dread, and do not fear. For the Lord your God is with you in all things, wherever you may go.”

⁴Since then, you have become honorable in my eyes, and glorious. I have loved you, and I will present men on behalf of you, and people on behalf of your life.

²⁷And God created man to his own image; to the image of God he created him; male and female, he created them.

²³Thus says the Lord: “The wise man should not glory in his wisdom, and the strong man should not glory in his strength, and the rich man should not glory in his riches. ²⁴But he who glories should glory in this: to know me and to know me well. For I am the Lord, who accomplishes mercy and judgment and justice upon the earth. For these things are pleasing to me, says the Lord.

¹⁰He will not have good will for the strength of the horse, nor will he be well pleased with the legs of a man. ¹¹The Lord is well pleased with those who fear him and with those who hope in his mercy.

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone is willing to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵For whoever would save his life, will lose it. But whoever will have lost his life for my sake, shall find it.

³Let nothing be done by contention, nor in vain glory. Instead, in humility, let each of you esteem others to be better than himself. ⁴Let each of you not consider anything to be your own, but rather to belong to others. ⁵For this understanding in you was also in Christ Jesus: ⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be seized. ⁷Instead, he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and accepting the state of a man. ⁸He humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, even the death of the Cross.

¹See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we would be called, and would become, the sons of God. Because of this, the world does not know us, for it did not know him.

⁷But even the very hairs of your head have all been numbered. Therefore, do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

¹⁰For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has prepared and in which we should walk.

⁹But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, an acquired people, so that you may announce the virtues of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹³Everything is possible in him who has strengthened me.

²⁸Come to me, all you who labor and have been burdened, and I will refresh you. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is sweet and my burden is light.”

¹⁴I will confess to you, for you have been magnified terribly. Your works are miraculous, as my soul knows exceedingly well.

³⁰Charm is false, and beauty is vain. The woman who fears the Lord, the same shall be praised.