Everyone on this planet is self conscious about something, but nobody has to be. When I draw a picture or write a post I can always see a flaw. I think my picture looks weird or I find a typo in a post a month after I wrote it. Immediately I think, "everybody who saw this must have thought I was a moron!" Then I have to remind myself that it doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter what people think of the mistakes that I make because it doesn't matter to God. When I say mistake I don't mean sin, I mean imperfections that are outside of morality. The reason you and I feel self conscious is because we all continuously compare ourselves to other people. When I make a mistake at school there is always someone in the room that yells, "FAIL!". They announce that I failed because they are comparing me to everyone else around me.
The Bible has a wonderful simple solution for this age old problem:
If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. (Galatians 6:3-5, NIV)
These verses state that you shouldn't compare yourself to others because each persons actions are their own. We live in an imperfect world. If a twisted broken person like me compares myself to the broken world around me I am caught questioning every action I take. I am caught questioning what would look good in the eyes of others when I should really be questioning what is good in the eyes of God. When I finally do start wondering what my mistakes look like to God I feel a burden lifted off my shoulders because the typo in my post or the imperfection in my drawing isn't a failure in God's eyes. God could care less about them because they aren't a sin and they don't keep me from Him.
C.S. Lewis agreed when he said:
"Of course, it is very right, and often our duty, not to care what people think of us, if we do so for the right reason; namely, because we care so incomparably more what God thinks."
I hear my friends tell me that they don't like certain features about themselves, and I tell them I haven't noticed it before. I didn't tell them that because I wanted them to feel better about themselves, I told them that because I meant it. When you see a friend of yours you don't notice any of their imperfections because you focus on the things you like about them. You shouldn't be self conscious about anything in front of your friends, if they are really your friends they will be oblivious of your imperfections. Everyone looks flawless to someone.
But when we feel self conscious about how we look it can be very stressful to dwell on, knowing that people see us everyday. The Bible just happens to have the answer for that too (and no, it's not plastic surgery!).
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 3:10, NIV)
This verse states two things; that God created us and our features the way they are for a purpose, and that God has a plan tailored specifically for us. Moses is a perfect example of this. Here is an interesting chat between God and Moses when God commanded Moses to speak to the king of Egypt:
Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." (Exodus 4:10-12, NIV)
God created us exactly the way He wants us to be. God has a special plan in store for every single one of us. God put the desire to be a missionary in my heart, I know no foreign languages but I know God will help me overcome that. I know that if God wants me to be a missionary He will help me learn different languages. God gives us imperfections and weaknesses so we can grow closer to the One who is perfect. God gave me this weakness because I need to rely on Him to overcome it.
So don't feel self conscious. God loves you just the way you are, and if God wants you to overcome a weakness, He will tell you and show you how to overcome it. Don't compare yourself to others, focus on God and you can't go wrong!
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