What Makes You So Special?

“And he did obeisance, and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?’” Mephibosheth, II Samuel 9:8

“You are of your father the devil . . . for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Jesus Christ, John 8:44

“But by the grace of God I am what I am.” Paul, I Corinthians 15:10

“You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you.” God, Isaiah 43:4

There is a world organization called the “Hemlock Society” dedicated to suicide by choice. Their newly published 276 page book, Suicide: Operating Instructions, is a bestseller in Europe. It teaches how to achieve “nonviolent deaths in conditions which do not degrade human dignity.” The book itself is often found beside the bodies of suicide victims. And the volume is soon to be released here in the United States.

Obviously the book will fill a need in our society, for there are millions of people filled with low self-esteem and self-hatred. According to the U.S. vital statistics office there were 35,000 suicides in this nation last year. Four thousand, seven hundred and forty-seven teenagers took their own lives in the past 12 months alone. That’s a rate of 13 a day. Since the Golden Gate Bridge has been built, over 430 people have used it as a perch from which to leap to their deaths.

Between 1968 and 1978 suicide rose 17% nationally. But for white males aged 20 to 24 the rate jumped 86%. In fact, last year for males aged 15 to 24 suicide ranked number two behind accidents as the number one cause of death.

And it’s not just poor people, unknown people, friendless people who destroy themselves. Willie Nelson, Fidel Castro, Marie Osmond,  Mary Tyler Moore, Paul Newman, Art Linkletter, Lana Turner, Oral Roberts, and all had children who allegedly committed suicide. The question is why? Why do people destroy themselves in increasing numbers today? For the answers let’s turn to the Bible and our four texts.

Now, two of our texts introduce us to different men. The one is Paul. The other is Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was a prince, the grandson of King Saul of Israel. He was normal in every way except that an accident as a youth had left him crippled in his feet. And in our text he tells us what he thinks of himself. “What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?” That’s a pretty low estimation of oneself, isn’t it?

The next text introduces us to the apostle Paul. His real name is Saul, but someone has nicknamed him “Paul,” which is Latin for “shorty.” He is a poor speaker with troublesome eyesight (II Peter 3:15-16, Galatians 4:13-14). And his face and back are frightfully disfigured from several whip-lashings and stonings (II Corinthians 11:24-25). All of this, and he is constantly being misunderstood, betrayed, rejected, and thrown into jail. And what does this fellow think of himself? Does he too, consider himself “a dead dog?” No. In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul affirms himself saying, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”

So, here we have two human beings, one a king’s grandson crippled in his feet. The other a short, thick-tongued, nearly blind, and scarred up, imprisoned theologian. Yet one’s self esteem is on the level of a dead dog while the other’s is on the level of the grace of God. One loved himself and lived a useful life. The other hated himself and lived off welfare. And the question is, what or whom made the difference for these two people? And can that same difference be made for you and for me and for our children?

For answers let’s turn to our other two texts. The first one is a statement by Jesus Christ about Satan. In it Jesus simply calls Satan a liar. It is a reminder that as the devil lied to Adam and Eve in the Garden – “You won’t die . . . your eyes will be opened . . . and you shall be as gods” – so he continues in his lying ways with us today. “You’re crippled in your feet, Mephibosheth! You’re no better than a dead dog!”

The other text is a statement by God to people everywhere. “You are precious in My eyes and honored, and I love you.” He says.

Now with all this in mind, here is our human dilemma. There are two voices speaking to us in this world. The one is Satan’s. The other is God’s. God tells us we are precious, made in His image, loved and honored. Satan lies to us. He tells us we are worthless, despicable, “a dead dog.” And our self-esteem will emerge largely from which voice we listen to and believe.

Next week, we will look at some of the lies Satan wants us to believe. 

Stephen is a campus minister with the Carolina Study Center. He can be reached at carolinastudycenter@msn.com.