Looking-Glass Self - What God Thinks About You

Sociologists have a theory of the looking-glass self: You become what the most important person in your life (e.g., wife, father, boss, etc.) thinks you are. 

How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?

Brennan Manning told the story of an Irish priest, who on a walking tour of a rural parish, saw an old peasant kneeling by the side of the road, praying. 

Impressed, the priest said to the man, "You must be very close to God." 

The peasant looks up from his prayers, thinks a moment, and then smiles, "Yes, He's very fond of me."

(Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com Adapted from Phillip Yancey, What's So Amazing about Grace?)

Self-Esteem - Quotable Quotes

Zig Ziglar

“The most influential person who will talk to you all day is you, so you should be very careful about what you say to you!” —Zig Ziglar

“People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves, they have the first secret of success.” —Norman Vincent Peale

“To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything.” —Joan Didion

“To establish true self-esteem, we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives.” —Denis Waitley

“Total, unconditional acceptance of yourself is the first step in building a positive self-image.” —Nido Qubein

Overconfident Naval Officer Loses His Way in the Fog

During a 1923 training exercise, a naval destroyer called the USS Delphy led a flotilla of seven vessels down the California coast. The USS Delphy was captained by Lieutenant Commander Donald T. Hunter, an experienced navigator and instructor at the Naval Academy. 

Without warning, about half way on their training mission, a thick blanket of fog descended on the ships. In the midst of the fog (Hunter claimed it looked like "pea soup"), Hunter couldn't get an accurate evaluation of his location. Contrary to Hunter's calculations, the lead ship was headed right into Devil's Jaw, a scant two miles off the California coast. But that didn't stop Hunter from plowing ahead. That is not surprising, for Hunter was known for his self-confident decisiveness and what others called his "magic infallibility" to guide his ship.

Traveling at 20 knots, suddenly the USS Delphy smashed broadside into the rocky Point Arguello shoreline. The force of the massive collision of welded steel and jagged rock split the hull of the USS Delphy in half. One by one, the other destroyers followed the Delphy's lead and smashed into the rocks. Twenty-two naval men died. The accident resulted in the loss of all seven ships. It still stands as one of the worst peacetime naval disasters in history.

Submitted by Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois; sources: Robert McKenna, The Dictionary of Nautical Literacy (McGraw Hill, 2003), p. 97; Charles Lockwood & Hans Christian Adamson, Tragedy at Honda (Naval Institute Press, 1986), pp. 29-49