The sixth of January

I realize it's already the 7th in most of the world, including here, so I'll have to write this before anyone notices. You would think I'd have more spare time on Saturdays than during the rest of the week. I just don't know where my time went, but this often happens to me on Saturdays. I didn't even sleep in very long. Anyway, I'm rambling.

Those who have a high degree of self-esteem can easily remain content

At first, I wanted to say "Well, it all depends on what you mean by self-esteem. And content.", but I decided this would be a cop-out.

I'm reading Ecclesiastes at the moment, which was written by a guy who calls himself the Teacher. He seems to be searching for contentment, which you can read for yourself, in chapter 2, for example. He seems to think everything is meaningless (or fleeting, or vanity, or smoke, or ..., although this all depends on what you mean by הכל, of course). However, he doesn't seem to be lacking in self-esteem:

I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.”—Ecclesiastes 1:16 (NLT)

On the other hand, I was recently in a situation that particularly troubled me. It troubled me because I didn't know how much I could do to fix it. I was feeling pretty down about it, but then I remembered that I was a child of God. I realized that even if I completely messed everything up (which seemed scarily possible at the time, though not probable), I would still be a child of God. I still wasn't happy about the situation, and wasn't sure if some of my previous decisions had been particularly wise, but at least I felt better about myself. Thinking about that time, I find it hard to distinguish between my self-esteem and my contentment. But of course, it all depends on what you mean by self-esteem and contentment.

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.—Galatians 3:26 (NLT)

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