It has been my experience that most people do not have a feeling of self-worth. What I mean by having a feeling of self-worth, or self-esteem, is the feeling that you are as good as anyone else in this world. This isn’t surprising, when considering all of the commercials we see showing beautiful people being portrayed as being perfect and leading perfect lives. Or that the “experts” are constantly telling us how dumb we are. Even the revealed religions, which are supposed to make feel better about ourselves, tell us that we are not worthy in the eyes of God.

   With all of this propaganda being fed down our throats, it is only normal to feel of less importance than
the rich and famous. But being Deists, we don’t have to be a part of the “norms.” We are free to examine our paradigms and conclude that we are equal to anyone. Obviously, we are not equally endowed by our creator to do some things as well as others may do them. But we all have our unique abilities, which do make us equal with everyone else. Just because our unique abilities do not lend themselves to making a great deal of money, or otherwise making us stand out from the crowd, doesn’t mean that we aren’t just as important to God or ourselves.  I am, self-admittedly, the most important person in the world to me. And you should recognize that you are the most important person in the world to yourself.

   Yes, I love my wife and son, and would die for either in a heart beat, still that is only because I think that my life would not be right without them. So it is only my own selfish desires that place others before myself. And that is true of most of us, if not all of us.

   Some people will seemly put others ahead of themselves, but this is for their selfish desires of being respected by society. All too many people consider society’s, often perverted, sense of a person’s worth and take it to heart as the final arbitrator. But keep in mind that, society’s standards are conditioned into us from the time we start learning how to talk. Society’s heroes are forced upon our children by television, radio, and school. Parents will often unwittingly perpetuate authority or “expert” worship. The revealed religions are maybe the worst at conditioning people so that they feel they are unworthy of a life of happiness.  For differing self serving reasons, parts of our society condition us with their propaganda.

   Propaganda can be used for good, but is usually just used to sell something to others, for the benefit of the seller. We all have seen commercials on TV, heard them on radio, and see them on signs. Politicians sell ideas, so that they can get elected or re-elected. Televangelists sell their concept of religion to whoever they can, so that they can profit and wield power over others. Commercials can be good in that they let us know of products that we can use. But we need to recognize that the commercials are biased to give us the best possible view of a particular product. We need to understand that the politician or preacher is selling us a product too. And that the product isn't necessarily in our own best interests. Even if the person has good intentions, it doesn’t make it any less of a form of propaganda. Nor is it necessarily good for us.

   We don’t have to allow ourselves to be swayed by propaganda. And we most certainly do not need to feel that we are not equal to those hyped imagines of people portrayed by propaganda. By recognizing that money, possessions, fame, are not what life is about, we can recognize our own self-worth. In the big scheme of things, we don’t have to consider such things as fame, fortune and such to be of much importance, when we recognize that what is really important to us are our family, friends, health, happiness, and our ability to think for ourselves. As Deists, we have the ability to see past the propaganda and work for those things that really matter to us. Because we recognize no authority as being above our own, we can develop our own ideas and values. Thus, we can recognize our own feelings of self-esteem and not be ashamed to do so.

   Something else that helps us realize our own self-
worth, is knowing that God loves us in God’s own way. 
I don’t understand it, but I truly believe that God loves us. Not only does God love all of us, but also he loves all of us equally. It may not seem that way by society’s standards, but we are all equally loved by God. And, if God loves you just the way you are, isn’t that proof of your worthiness for life and happiness?

   Maybe you are thinking right now, or maybe sometime tomorrow, that you don’t believe that God loves us. Well, maybe you are right. But that makes you no less admirable. If there is no God, or a God that doesn’t love us, we are still equal before nature. The laws of nature effect us all in the same way. Sometimes genetics seem to favor some over others, but it is just nature’s way of working. Nature has to try other things to progress, some benefit us in some things and some don’t. Some benefit in ways that are not obviously evident. Yet, we are still equally effected by nature.

   So, when it is all said and done, all of us are truly equal. No one deserves to be put above anyone else in our concepts of others. Not that we shouldn’t judge others actions, especially when their actions effect others. But we should give everyone the benefit of recognizing that they are no less special then us. And we need to really feel that no one is more special than us. As long as you treat others with respect, then they will tend to return that respect. And those that don’t return the respect you show them, still should be shown respect. By example, it shows others how worthy of respect you are. And more importantly, you show yourself how much you are worthy of respect. Especially self-respect, which is another way of saying that you recognize your own self-worth. Which will help you have the self-esteem to live a better, happier life.

   Don’t let the propaganda get to you. Know that you deserve to have self-respect. Nature and God teach us that. Deism teaches us, that we are all equal in the eyes of God. Don’t let one of Deism’s best messages pass you by. Teach yourself, that you are worth as much as anyone else. Then feel good about yourself, you deserve it.