Denzel Washington and My Self-Esteem Bucket
I watched an interview with two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington today. His new movie (he directed and acted) , coming to theaters on Christmas Day, is called The Great Debaters. The story follows a black southern debate team during the Great Depression as they pursue the challenges of debating the white teams. Denzel knows exactly who he is!
He told how he starts and ends his day with prayer, asking for guidance, protection, and even more "thank You's". He talked about how everyone has his little bucket of self-esteem and all day long people are tipping his bucket, trying to empty it out. He said he has to refill that bucket, sometimes several times a day, and the only way to refill it is to maintain his inner peace. How does he refill it? Denzel runs to the Lord for His refills. His mother always told him, "Man gives the AWARD, God gives the REWARD."
He struck me as a very humble man in spite of his huge accomplishments and awards. His comments also brought up a question inside of me. Do I know who I am? If I do, how do I know? And where do I run to fill up my own bucket of self-esteem? Here's my refill station and what I know about myself.
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17 )
I am bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint [set apart for God]. (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt.5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil.3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16 ).
I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).
I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor.. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1).
I am God's workmanship (Eph.2:10 )
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col.1:14).
I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)
I belong to God!!! I am God's Girl and He cherishes me! Now that builds my esteem! Yep, my bucket is full today!
(c)2007 April Lorier Perspective
10 comments:
Yes I know who I am. To know that we are children of the Most High God and He loves us is beyond words. Like our pastor said, why walk around looking mad, sad or depressed, when people look at you, they will not see the love of God and it is hard to witness to someone when all they see is unhappiness and depression, who would want to serve a God that would make you feel that way, not me. Be joyful all the time and let the love of God shine through you.
You have a very wise pastor, Clarissa! Yes, when people look at us and they know we are Christians, we need to make sure we're not complaining or looking unhappy. After all, God is bigger than any of our circumstances!
Thank you for commenting, Clarissa
What a pleasant surprise to find out Denzel is a Christian. I always knew there was something wonderful coming from the inside of Denzel.
Thank you for this encouraging post.
I like to refer to this bucket you speak of as my "God-Esteem" Bucket. It takes self out of the identification altogether.
Yes, Denise, it's nice to know that this man who seems to have everything going for him gets HIS bucket spilled every day, just like we do! And I agree that there is a loveliness emanating from Denzel.
Thank you so much for stopping by to leave a comment!
Merry CHRISTmas to you, Denise!
Dear Anon, you're right! Our esteem should not be based on self anything, but on who we are in God!
Thank you for your comment, and Merry CHRISTmas!
So you are a drama queen, too? We must be related. LOL I love your list of biblical references that tell us who we are as followers of Christ. That must have taken forever to put together. Thanks for the effort and the post.
Your sister in Christ
Dear fellow drama queen who chose to be anonymous. Hey, honey, you could have identified yourself. We're all drama queens at some time in our lives.
Isn't it wonderful, when you start jotting down all the scripture references, to discover who you REALLY are? Hey, I say, "Come on life! Bring on the circumstances! My Daddy is bigger than you are and He will defend me! Ha!
Hi, girlfriend! Boy, you are all over the internet :-) I found you at goarticles.com I read your testimony. What a beautiful story of restoration. I hope you are having a good day.
Hi, Teresa! Well, I'm not all over the internet, but I am in lots of places. But when you write a blog (as opposed to a website) you tend to get RSS'd more.
Yes, there's nothing more beautiful than a restored human being,is there? God's in the reclamation and restoration business, you know!
Merry CHRISTmas, Teresa!