You’re not enough
Sapat ka. In English, “you are enough.” In a culture that thrives in self-sufficiency, this phrase is something we freely embrace as part of our motivational mantra. It is our go-to affirmation to soothe our wounded self-esteem whenever we feel like we don’t measure up, which is often the case in our performance-driven, selfie culture.
Is human nature basically good?
The “you’re enough” affirmation can be attributed to the idea that human nature is basically good. It feeds our need for affirmation in a way that sounded like, “It’s all about me,” “I am worth it,” “I have it in me to be all that I can be,” “There is so much good inside of me. I just have to find and unleash it.”
Is human nature really good?
The Bible says in Psalm 14:3,
“All have turned away, all have become corrupt, there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Jeremiah 17: 9 also tells us that, the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.
These declarations from the word of God reveal the painful contrast of our moral bankruptcy versus the sweet affirmation of “You’re enough.” Our real desperate state is depravity. And this is where the good news begins.
You’re not enough.
While it is true that we have an intrinsic value in the sight of God because we are created by Him(Genesis 1:31), that value is determined not by us being good. It is determined by God, who created us, loved us and sent His Son to die for our sins (Romans 5:8). It is not something we can find inside us but rather outside us — in Christ.
You’re not enough. We are not enough. That is the truth. We do not have to be enough because we will never be. We will never find salvation within ourselves. We can quit finding the “good” inside and start looking to Jesus, the Good Shepherd. We can quit striving to measure up because Jesus had already given His life for us to have a right standing with God. Only in Christ, can we become “good” in the sight of God.
The Good News
The reality that we can come before Jesus, tired, hungry, thirsty, broken, depraved, and having absolutely nothing, is so liberating. It is liberating because we can know and trust him to be our rest (Matthew 11:28), our fulfillment, the Bread of Life, the Living Water (John 6:35), our restorer, and our sufficiency (2 Corinthians 3:5).
Acknowledging with humility (James 4:6), our sinful depravity, our helplessness to save ourselves is where we experience the grace that abounds (Romans 5:20). The grace in Christ transforms us from being bad to being good. And our ultimate good is to become like Him.
You are not enough and it’s totally okay, even better. Because Christ is enough and that’s all that matters.
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Loosely based on these podcasts:
Alisa Childers’ podcast: How to escape the cult of self-affirmation, with Allie Beth Stuckey
Allie Beth Stuckey’s Relatable podcast: New Age vs Christianity part 1 | Guest: Steven Bancarz