By Chris WittsThursday 22 Sep 2022Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
Transcript:
I’m not very good at telling jokes, but I do like this joke about the man who went to see a psychiatrist one day and he went in. He said, “Look, I’m really worried about my inferiority complex.” And he told the doctor that no matter what he tried, all he could focus on in his life were the inadequate things; that he was inadequate. And so the doctor listened to him for a while and said, “Listen, my friend, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is you don’t have a complex, and the bad news is that you are inferior.”
Well, I think it’s not such a joking matter, this business of feeling inferior. Do you ever feel inferior or inadequate? Do you feel as a man or a woman or a young person that you are inadequate, perhaps as a husband or a father, and maybe then you could identify with lots of people?
And I think that we could ask the question, are you suffering from inferiority blues? You know, do you think of yourself being less worthy and less talented than other people around you, and I think it’s fairly common. I think lots of people feel like that from time to time. Most of us have come across a period in our life when we feel disappointed with ourselves, dissatisfied, and that can become quite a serious liability.
So what’s really going on here when you feel inferior? I think that deep down inside, we’re saying, I wish I was different. I wish I was like someone else. I wish I had, uh, you know, better features or I was better looking or more talented or had more money.
How feelings of inferiority lie to us
And I want to say today that amidst that idea is something we forget and it’s really a shame. We forget that God has created us in a very unique way. Simple for me to say that. But it’s true that you are special. Each person is special in their own way. So we’ve got to accentuate the positive things and look out. Don’t become trapped in that sense of feeling inferior.
Easy to say, not so easy to do. If you think optimistically, I think you’d have a positive approach towards life and each day you would say “I’m going to get the best out of life.” Therefore, I can feel confident, I can feel self assured and I think you’d be surprised at the difference that that makes so whether you’re at work or whatever you’re doing, it doesn’t really matter being positive because we are individuals, you know, you’re different, I’m different.
We need to work on that fact. And I think it’s not a bad idea to get a pen and paper and write down. And this is, you know, not a big deal, but right down the list of all the good qualities that you’ve got to keep that list and look at it from time to time.
And when you’re feeling low and you’re feeling inferior, as I say, that will give you a morale boost, redefine the skills that you’ve got. I mean, we do have talents, we can also learn to do new things, and I think in doing that, it actually boosts our confidence and self esteem. I think it’s important, you know, to realise that nobody in this world is perfect. Place yourself in a self improvement chart if you like and say “Yes, I can improve myself, but no one is perfect.”
It is true that we sometimes take ourselves a bit too seriously. We ought to just enjoy life as it comes and take those moments every day. And I think this would certainly help you become more comfortable and outgoing. I’m reminded you know that we’re in good company. If you do feel that way today, you’re not alone because I’m looking at the Bible. And do you know that the Children of Israel from the Old Testament experienced inferiority? There’s a tremendous story here, and you can look at it in Numbers 13.
The story of the 12 spies who came back from exploring the promised land. It was a big task, and when they came back, they said “we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” In other words, they were frightened of the giants. They just felt downtrodden. They felt like grasshoppers, and that might be something we can call it – a grass hopper experience. You feel that you’re nobody special, but remember that God sees you as as someone very important.
Let’s Pray
Well, sometimes, Lord, we do feel like that, and we seem to worry about being critical or judgmental. But we want Lord to extend love and grace to everyone we meet. So help us, Lord, to be positive. I pray for Jesus sake, amen.