You can be their catyalst by being the bridge that connects them to their positive identity.
“You want to over use something?
Over use encouragement.
Self-image is a critical component of sport & life performance.
Many kids don’t believe in themselves.
But you can believe in them.
And if you do it tangibly & consistently, they’ll start to believe it themselves.”
-Ray Zingler on X
It’s impossible to make someone believe in themselves, right?
Ultimately, that notion must come from within.
Here comes the crazy Christian, are you ready!?
Being a Christian requires a personal relationship with Jesus. It’s a choice that nobody can make for you other than yourself.
But as a Christian who wants to see others around me seek and enjoy the freedom that can only be found in Christ, I can encourage them.
I can encourage them with my words, my actions, my behavior, my lifestyle, my advice, and my mentorship.
I can lead them to water, if you will.
I can’t drink it for them, but I can lead them to the cistern.
And I can do it over and over and over again.
Does this guarantee their surrender to Christ?
Of course not, again, it’s ultimately up to them, and I couldn’t force their hand even if I tried. That end of the deal is totally up to them and God.
But let me ask you, who is more likely to grow into a relationship with Jesus? Someone who has been appropriately and consistently led and encouraged in the ways of the Lord?
Or somebody who has lived like Hell their whole lives with no mentor or moral compass.
God is so amazing that He can reach the lives of both individuals just the same, but like the Good Book says, it’s obviously going to be the former more often than the ladder.
I thought this post was about “self-image”?
It is.
Many kids don’t believe in themselves.
Especially in the modern era where they are cogs in a technological machine comparing themselves to everyone in the world 24 hours a day from a device that lives in their pocket and steals from their joy & freedom.
But do you know who CAN believe in them?
You can.
You can listen to them, validate them, love them, & encourage them.
You can ensure they know that who they are is more than enough.
And if you believe it so tangibly and consistently, what is likelihood that they too, might one day believe it?
The odds are a hell of a lot higher than if you weren’t there regularly broadcasting your belief.
Be their catalyst.
