Who Am I: Am I Good Enough?

Two months ago, I was sitting on the ground, painting, when I overheard a teen say to his adult friend, "I'm just not good enough!" His friend immediately replied, "Don't say that! That's not true." The teen said, "But I can't do it. I'm not talented enough."

It deeply saddened me to hear that, but it wasn't the first time I'd heard something like that. There are people I know who are constantly putting themselves down, telling themselves they're not good enough, that they're so much worse than so and so, that they can't do it, and so on and so on. And I know I do this to myself, too, lots of times. It's a constant theme that Satan attacks us with - questioning our identity and our capability. Was I good enough?

After hearing people say this to me before (not in the exact words, and sometimes just in their body language and facial expressions), it's hard to keep their statements out of my head. Am I good enough? Did I do enough to be loved by all people - am I supposed to be loved by people? Do I fit in enough? The question "Am I good enough?" is a question that grows from the seeds of comparison. Comparison - another trap of the enemy. You want to be good enough, but how are you defining "good enough"? Are you defining it by your friends' statuses, or your family's standards? Is it good enough for that cute person of the opposite sex? Is it good enough to get a certain job, certain position on the team? Is it good enough for your own goals and rules? What is the definition of good enough - and are you it?

Family, let me tell you something that might be hard to hear for some of you, and again I apologize for my bluntness, but it must be said: You will NEVER be good enough. Pause. Don't stop reading- there's more than what you're assuming. There is no "good enough"; it's just an endless cycle of "good enough for so and so" and then you have to be good enough for the next person and so on. You're probably like, exCUSE me, I thought we're supposed to be positive!

Okay, yes, you're right. But it's the truth - you will never be good enough for the world. That doesn't mean you won't be loved, admired, befriended, etc. But the world's standards are set at an impossibly high level, one that can't be obtained without straying from the Christian faith.

So what's the point in trying to be my best, you ask? Because JESUS. In His word, He says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Colossians 3:23 NIV). Don't do things so you can be good enough for the world- do it to the best of your ability for the LORD. And then also, do you want to be simply "good enough" for someone, or above and beyond that? When you follow what God says, you will go far. Amazing things will happen - but there will still be trials, of course, because that's how we learn!

But beyond that, though we will never be worthy of God's love, that doesn't matter to Him! He loves you despite who you are, despite your flaws, your past- God loves you forever, regardless of what the world says. You can never earn His love, but that's okay. He loves you anyway. But He sure must've thought you were worth dying on the cross (the most painful death possible!), because that's what He sent His ONLY Son to do! Don't worry about what the world may think or say of you, or whether they think you're good enough or not. It doesn't matter - God loves you as who you are.