Christian Living

When I Learned to Like Myself

by Anne O'Donnell
12/13/20
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Shortly after becoming a Christian, I learned how God created each person with special gifts and talents to manifest His presence in the Body of Christ. Curious about these gifts, I studied three references in the Bible; Romans 12:6-8, Ephesians 4:7-16, and 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, to learn the proper use of the gifts as well as the dangers that surface when a gift is exercised without discretion and maturity. 

I discovered there is more to my individuality than I knew existed! This knowledge ignited a respect for myself, perhaps for the first time.

In second grade, I obsessed over how uncomfortable I felt in a sea of students who probably came from normal homes and knew how to laugh. I did not own happy thoughts. My mother told me I had a big behind and horse’s teeth. Whenever I smiled, I felt like my teeth were lit up like red neon lights drawing attention to the obvious flaw on my face and detracting from the rest of my facial features. I cringed when I saw pictures of myself in family photo albums. Some of these self image problems stemmed from the fact that in my childhood home, no one paid attention to each other’s strengths, or bothered to draw out each other’s best character qualities.

As a young person prior to knowing the Lord, and tallying up the key characteristics of my identity, I have to admit I didn’t like one thing about myself; my first or last name, my profile, my figure, my front teeth that should have been straightened with braces, my melancholy temperament, my horoscope sign, my crippling inferiority, amongst other things. For the record, since becoming a Christian, I have turned away from all connections with anything horoscope related, (I even refused to buy a Taurus car!) and view it as a tool from the devil to keep people in a fixed position and unable to yield to the sovereign plans of God.

How thankful I am that when we ask Jesus to save us and change us, He gives us a new identity and we no longer have to use a list of negatives to define our worth. Everyone has weaknesses, but everyone has strengths too. Cultivating the strengths diminishes the weaknesses and allows us to see ourselves through God’s eyes. 

Here is what I learned about myself after taking a Spiritual Gifts Test:

According to the gifts referred to in Romans 12:6-8 given by God the Father, I demonstrate the gift of mercy and servanthood. 

According to the gifts referred to in Ephesians 4:7-16 given by God the Son, I am drawn to teaching others.

According to the gifts referred to in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 given by the Holy Spirit, I demonstrate the gifts of knowledge and discernment. 

Once I began operating in these gifts with a more concise awareness of their purpose, I realized my responses in any given situation came with spontaneity and enthusiasm, because these tendencies are built into my identity.

After experiencing the abundance of God’s goodness through the use of my gifts, I came to love my name and its meaning (Anne means grace), embraced my personality traits, and discovered why every detail of who I am got orchestrated by the One who knows me the best.

For anyone desiring to know why God says we are wonderfully made, ask Him, and He will reveal why He delights in His creation of you!