In this age of social media, maintaining a healthy level of self-worth can be difficult, especially if you’re a woman. Beauty standards are constantly shifting and behavioral expectations are quickly getting out of hand.
So in today’s post, we’re going to delve into God’s word and discuss what it says about women’s self-worth – stay tuned!
What is the purpose/value of a woman in the Bible?
God’s word is full of amazing bible verses that remind us of the value and purpose of women. Of them all, the most popular text is probably Proverbs 31.
Written by King Solomon, this chapter delves deep into the value of a woman of God.
It particularly talks about how she makes a wife of noble character and is a blessing to her family. Not only does this woman ensure her children are properly clothed during the cold seasons, but she also opens her heart to the poor and less fortunate.
Interestingly, she also serves as a provider, waking up at the break of day to search for food for her family and even buying land she finds fit.
Bible verses about beauty
For time immemorial, women’s worth has been tied to their outward appearance and how much it aligns with societal standards. But what does the bible say about this? Here are the best bible verses to give you clarity:
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. – 1 Peter 3:3 NIV
Here, Peter reminds women that their true beauty doesn’t come from their outward adornment but rather from their inner self.
In fact, he emphasizes that this inner beauty is what women should use to win their husbands over to believe the word of God. He even goes as far as citing this as the way that Sarah and previous holy women behaved.
Ultimately, this beautiful bible verse encourages us to focus more on cultivating a quiet spirit and doing good works than on wearing fine clothes, jewelry, and fancy hair.
While it’s not bad to do the latter, the former is more important to God – he even refers to it as unfading beauty. As such, it is a better indicator of your worth than your outward appearance.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised – Proverbs 31:30 NIV
This is one of the most popular verses in Proverbs 31, and with good cause. For one, it reminds us of a universal truth – physical beauty fades away with time. Even if you are a model, you will be considered less and less beautiful as you age.
Moreover, charm is unreliable – it’s not an indicator of any values or character. Ultimately, only the fear of God is the only quality that is worthy of praise and boasting.
This is because from it springs, mercy, faithfulness, generosity, humility, and many other good qualities.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7 NIV
The whole of 1 Samuel chapter 16 talks about how God sent Samuel to go anoint David as the next King of God’s holy nation.
In the above-mentioned verse, God is particularly telling Samuel to disregard the physical appearance of Eliab, David’s brother. While Samuel thought that Eliab’s conventional beauty made him suitable to be King, God disagreed.
This teaches us that physical beauty doesn’t increase our worth, especially in God’s eyes – after all God looks more at the content of our hearts.
As such, beauty shouldn’t be the foundation of our self-worth. In fact, Ezekiel 28:17 warns us that beauty can make us proud and corrupt, eventually making God reject us.
Bible verses about self-worth
The word of God has a collection of bible verses on what we should build our self-worth on. These include:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. – Psalms 139: 13-14 NIV
Psalms 139 is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful chapters that King David ever wrote. In it, he talks about how God is an ever-present force in his life.
He even talks about how God created him intricately in his mother’s womb.
David reminds us that each of us is God’s special possession and that we can never hide from Him. Ultimately, the above-mentioned verse and the entire chapter teach us to derive our worth from the fact that we are children of God.
No matter how much we run, this is our ultimate identity.
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. – Luke 12:6-7 NIV
Here Luke reminds us of how valuable we are to God – more valuable than sparrows. The entire chapter talks about how we should not worry, even during hard times.
Luke goes as far as telling us that God will provide for both our physical and spiritual needs.
So since we are of great worth in God’s sight, we should see ourselves the same way and not settle for less than God’s best. After all, Jesus said that he came to give us abundant life.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. – Psalms 73:26 NIV
If there’s one thing that Psalms 73 focuses on it’s the human propensity to fall short and stumble. In it, David talks about how envious he was of wicked people who kept on getting their way and even amassing wealth.
But even in this state of bitterness, God was with him and strengthened him.
This shows us that God still sees us as valuable even when we miss the mark. If you think about it, this is what it means to live under the covenant of Grace.
So even when you make mistakes, don’t ever think that this makes you worthless – Christ Jesus has already paid the price for your salvation and made you a member of the royal priesthood.
Bible verses for low self-esteem
While many women have a basic understanding that they are worthy, it can still be difficult for them to muster up self-esteem – it requires taking a step further.
High self-esteem is usually expressed by confidence in your identity, openness to criticism, and comfort with asserting yourself. Fortunately, there are several amazing bible verses on this topic:
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline – 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
If there’s one thing that this verse teaches us, it’s that God is not responsible for any spirit of fear that tries to overcome us. In fact, He gives us the opposite of that.
So no matter what comes our way, we should face it with confidence, understanding who we are in Him.
This is actually the whole foundation of self-esteem – believing we are who God says we are. It’s therefore not surprising that in the verses about this one, Timothy reminds us that we have been called not because of what we’ve done but because of God’s love and grace.
He even goes as far as telling us that we should never feel shame when we suffer for our faith – instead, we need to be confident in God.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength – Philippians 4:13 NIV
If you need to boost your self-esteem, Philippians 4:13 is one of the best bible verses to read. In it, Paul reminds us that there’s nothing in this world that we can’t do when we have Jesus.
This comes after he has even laid out that he has learned to be content in both wealth and echo.
In many ways, this verse echoes what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 – His power is made perfect in our weakness.
So even in hard times, we should not feel down and out. We should still believe in ourselves and our heavenly father.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand – Isaiah 41:10 NIV
These words from Isaiah remind us that we are never truly alone, even when we have to undertake the most difficult of tasks.
The verses after this one go into this deeper, citing that God will even deal with our enemies on our behalf. This reminds us that no matter what happens, God will be there for us and ensure that we reach our destiny.
As Philippians 1:6 says, God will finish the works of righteousness He began in us no matter what. This is reason enough for us to believe in ourselves and our capacity to succeed.
Bible verses about self-acceptance
A great part of understanding your self-worth is accepting yourself, flaws and all. Luckily, God’s word gives guidance on this through bible verses like:
You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you – Song of Songs 4:7 NIV
Written by King Solomon, this verse in Song of Songs reminds us that we are beautiful, even when we don’t think we are.
While King Solomon was addressing a lover in this verse and even chapter, it is also a clear depiction of how God sees us. Ultimately, this is how we should see ourselves and even those that we love.
This creates an acceptance of even those things that aren’t considered conventionally beautiful. After all, Ephesians 2:10 tells us that each one of us is God’s masterpiece, created to do good works.
So whenever you are tempted to criticize your looks or personality, remember this verse.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them – Genesis 1:27 NIV
In all of creation, we are the only ones made in the image of God – this verse is here to always remind us of that.
This makes us God’s special possession and reminds us that everything we have in us isn’t by accident -it’s by design. And God’s design is never wrong.
He was even pleased when He created a woman as a helper for the man – He said it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18).
So if you ever struggle with accepting yourself as a woman, remember that God accepts you fully. Moreover, the man you get married to should also accept you too – you are valuable.
Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand – Isaiah 64:8 NIV
The main message of this verse is that God is the only one who molds us throughout our lives. Not only does he knit us together in our mother’s womb but he also guides and builds us while here on earth.
He particularly works to shape our character and make us more and more Christ-like.
That’s why John 15:2 tells us that God cuts every branch of us that is unfruitful and prunes each fruitful one.
So don’t beat yourself up or think that your brokenness makes you less worthy than everyone else. In fact, it is actually the part of you that gives God something to work with.
Bible verses about self-love
An important aspect of self-worth is self-love. And the bible is full of verses on this topic. These include:
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved – Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV
If there’s one thing that God’s word keeps bringing up again and again is that He loves us. In fact, He loves us so much that He gave up His son for us (John 3:16) and called us righteous because of it.
In the entire bible, there has never been another great love.
So if a perfect God can love us so much when we are marked by sin, we should be able to find the best way to love ourselves.
Believing that you are not worthy of love is like trying to negate what God says about you. So let His everlasting love flow through you, allowing you to love yourself and even others.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud – 1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV
It’s impossible to talk about any kind of love without at least mentioning this verse. It marks the beginning of the best description of love. Ultimately, it’s the standard to which you can compare anything you encounter that you’re not sure is love.
So even when you’re struggling to love yourself, you can compare how you treat yourself to this text to ensure that you’ve hit the mark.
Interestingly, you can’t even love others well before learning to love yourself. That’s why Mark 12:31 even says that you should love your neighbors as you love yourself.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love – 1 John 4:8 NIV
As the bible says again and again, God is love – to know Him is to love Him and others. This is the essence of this verse. It teaches us to lean into love, even self-love.
So you should never feel guilty for loving yourself. This is just a sign that you have learned to love from the best – God.
Final thoughts
All you have to do is read the bible to realize that God has a lot to say about women’s self-worth. It is full of scriptures that help women understand their worth, love themselves better, accept themselves, and even build self-esteem.
So if you’re struggling with any of these, just dig into the old book!
