One part of your life that either builds self-respect or tears it down is behavior\u2013the choices you make. Everyone is involved in a multitude of choices every day and your self-respect depends on the quality of your performance.<\/p>\n
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You do your best. You do it right. You do what is required. You follow instructions. You give it all you’ve got. You keep your agreements. These and more are choices you make day after day, according to the principles that guide you.<\/span><\/p>\n Consider some statements from wise King David:<\/span><\/p>\n Knowledge of Sin<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Thy word have I treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee<\/em> (Psalm 119:11).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Insight and Understanding<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I have more insight than all my teachers, for Thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, because I have observed thy precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Thy word<\/em> (Psalm 119:99-101).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Peace and Stability<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Those who love Thy law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble <\/em>(Psalm 119:165).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The prophet Isaiah and the great leader Joshua add more insights:<\/span><\/p>\n Well-being and Righteousness<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea<\/em> (Isaiah 48:18).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Prosperity and Success<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success<\/em>\u00a0(Joshua 1:8).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Searching out all those commandments will lead you into a lifetime study of the Bible. Also, it will guide you into conduct pleasing to God and will contribute to your own self-respect.<\/span><\/p>\n That’s worth a lifetime of study! Why\u00a0not<\/em> commit yourself to a lifetime of doing what is right? Just as people who are physically fit spend a lifetime seeking out fitness principles and following them, so\u00a0contented people learn the principles that will enable them to build self-respect\u2026to love themselves<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n The Bible furnishes us with some broad guidelines to help us make choices, but what it says puts the responsibility for our daily actions squarely on our own shoulders:<\/span><\/p>\n All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable\u2026I will not be mastered by anything<\/em> (1 Corinthians 6:12).<\/span><\/p>\n All things are lawful, but not all things edify<\/em> (1 Corinthians 10:23).<\/span><\/p>\n To one who knows the right thing\u2026and does not do it\u2026it is sin\u00a0<\/em>(James 4:17).<\/span><\/p>\n The work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever <\/em>(Isaiah 32:17).<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Every day of your life you make choices about what you will or will not do.<\/span><\/p>\n I’ve listened to countless stories in the counseling room of people who create tensions for themselves because of their own actions. No one knows their secret.\u00a0But they know<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n Consider what the Bible has to say:<\/span><\/p>\n Each one examine his own work\u2026in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another<\/em> (Galatians 6:4).<\/span><\/p>\n Want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise of the same\u2026if you do what is evil, be afraid\u2026for\u2026an avenger\u2026brings wrath upon the one who practices evil <\/em>(Romans 13:3-4).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I have found guilt is only a problem with people who pretend to be sorry for something they have done, but intend to do it again. Guilt is no problem to the repentant person, no matter what he has done, if there is a willingness not to repeat the mistake.<\/span><\/p>\n If you follow God’s commandments, you will watch your self-respect grow.<\/span><\/p>\n \n This is an excerpt of chapter 4 from Dr. Brandt\u2019s book,\u00a0I Want Happiness Now!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n >>\u00a0Find life-changing insights arranged topically by need<\/a><\/p>\n >>\u00a0Listen to dynamic audio messages by Dr. Brandt<\/a><\/p>\n >>\u00a0Experience freedom and healing from sin problems<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One part of your life that either builds self-respect or tears it down is behavior\u2013the choices you make. Everyone is involved in a multitude of choices every day and your self-respect depends on the quality of your performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[236,235,115,128,129],"author_meta":{"display_name":"ddunn","author_link":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/author\/ddunn\/"},"featured_img":null,"coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Happiness<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Happiness<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Happiness<\/a>","Inner Peace<\/a>","self-respect<\/a>","success<\/a>","well-being<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Happiness<\/span>","Inner Peace<\/span>","self-respect<\/span>","success<\/span>","well-being<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 12 years ago","modified":"Updated 1 year ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on December 24, 2009","modified":"Updated on August 10, 2020"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on December 24, 2009 7:02 pm","modified":"Updated on August 10, 2020 11:15 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"ddunn","author_link":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/author\/ddunn\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8013,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582\/revisions\/8013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalcounselinginsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nYou do poorly.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nYou mess it up.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nYou cheat.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nYou disobey.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nYou do it half-heartedly.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nYou go back on your word.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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Want more? Click here\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n