Self confidence and self awareness = worshiping ones self? I know that most Christians have this guilt complex and are constantly being told (and believe) that they are somehow sinful and not worthy of their Gods love. I had no idea you were not supposed to even be happy and knowledgeable either. I guess it all just goes hand in hand though.
There is so much in life to be happy about, and if you are self confident and have accomplished goals, to be proud of yourself for. Why do so many Christians deny themselves happiness and self worth?
__________________________________________________________________________
We don't. But neither do we feel the need to prove to everyone how we have such "diverse knowledges", nor do we have to talk about how our "feeble scribblings" are so "poignant".
You see, the difference is our self-confidence is merely a fact of life. We don't feel the need to crow about it to everyone else. Our accomplishments, rather than being cause for PRIDE, are cause for GRATITUDE. Gratitude to the Lord who gave us all the tools we need to accomplish the things we do.
And it has been proven in scientific studies that GRATITUDE leads to a happier life. Self-aggrandizement, on the other hand, is a sign of UNDERconfidence. When people keep trying to convince others how wonderful they are, what they are REALLY doing is trying to convince themselves.
Atheists like this DO worship their own intellect. They place their intellect at the top of the list of things that are important to them. They think a high IQ is what elevates them above "average" people. They think it makes them better than "average" people.
Christians with a high IQ know that that IQ is a gift from God, and rather than using it to make themselves feel better than others, they USE this gift from God to HELP others, as our Lord directs us to. So instead of having a chip on our shoulders, wondering why we are surrounded by "idiots", we have love and gratitude in our hearts, and wonder why we are surrounded by people less fortunate than ourselves, and we put that IQ into action to make their lives better.
It gives us SO much more peace and happiness than the one who keeps crying, "Look at ME!! I'm so SMART!! Why can't I CONVINCE you??!!"