Do you ever feel like a fraud? You aren’t alone! In the late 1970s, two researchers identified “imposter syndrome” as the condition of doubting one’s skills, talents, or abilities and interpreting oneself as a fraud. Even successful and brilliant people struggle with inadequacy, worrying that if anyone peeked behind the curtain of their lives, they’d see how much they don’t know.
Paul exhorts the people of the first-century church in Rome to be humble: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment” (Romans 12:3). We understand the importance of not elevating our abilities. But when we doubt our own value, we go too far, robbing others of the gifts God wants us to use to serve Him. To think of ourselves with “sober judgment” (v. 3) is to have a sane estimation—a realistic regard—for what we offer. Paul nudges us to overcome our hesitancies, to embrace who we are “in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of [us]” (v. 3). In this way, God’s body of believers may be built up (vv. 4-8).
Rather than degrading our offerings with imposter syndrome, let’s embrace God’s giftings within us. By gratefully accepting His grace, we can think neither too highly nor too lowly of ourselves. In doing so, we please our Father and build up Christ’s body of believers.
Where do you struggle with imposter syndrome? How can God offer you faith to overcome?
Dear God, please help me to see myself the way You see me, in accordance with the measure of faith You give.
For further study, read For When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong.
Paul’s call for us to have “sober judgment” (Romans 12:3) regarding our abilities and giftings comes just before he compares Christ’s church to “one body with many members” (v. 4). Everything we have is a gift, including our faith (v. 3) and our talents (vv. 6-8). A proper self-awareness recognizes that we’re neither worthless nor indispensable. We’re not worthless because we’re created in God’s image and redeemed by His Son who died for us. And we’re not indispensable because all our gifts and abilities come from Him in the first place. He equips all who believe in Him to serve Him and others. But it’s essential that believers do this work together, as one body. Such interdependency requires love, which the apostle highlights in the next section. “Love must be sincere,” he wrote (v. 9). When we accept God’s grace, we’ll see ourselves as He sees us and “be devoted to one another in love [and] honor one another above [ourselves]” (v. 10).
