I’m continually surprised by how much I still struggle with this question. For the most part I’m not aware of being concerned about what others think of me, and then, bang—something comes up that makes me question my goodness, adequacy, or ability, and I find that there’s still more egotism there than I realized.
But I can tell I am making progress, because these days I find myself actually grateful for those wake-up moments, even though they’re uncomfortable. I see them as opportunities to keep surrendering to how God sees me, to rest secure in the steady approval that God has for all of Her children, to realize that this is what really matters most, and to experience the tangible benefits of this realization.
Through Christian Science, I’ve come to see that God’s approval of us is more like a math fact than a comparative opinion. It doesn’t vary from one time or person to another. As God’s children, His own spiritual expression, we are loved infinitely and eternally. And feeling this deep love allows us to go forward with equanimity and confidence, even in the face of destructive criticism from without or self-doubt from within. It allows us to accept constructive criticism with grace and to reject thoughts that belittle and impede progress.
