Problems of legal regulation of the protection of honor and dignity

About human dignity (+VIDEO)

We have already talked about pride, including that which hides under the guise of self-deprecation and self-criticism, and today we decided to reflect on self-esteem. What is human dignity from a Christian perspective? Can self-esteem be sinful, or can it become a virtue? Hegumen Nektary (Morozov) discusses this.

From a Christian point of view, man has an absolutely excellent dignity. The Monk Macarius of Egypt says that no matter how beautiful and majestic this whole world created by God may be, nevertheless, the Lord does not deign to rest in anything from this visible world, but in the small human heart He finds a place of rest for Himself. In those cases, of course, when a person stops resisting God and lets Him into his heart.

Human dignity surpasses angelic dignity

Moreover, the Apostle Paul speaks of the disembodied Heavenly Powers that they are ministering spirits sent for our salvation (see: Heb. 1:13–14), that is, human dignity surpasses the dignity of angels. And although this sounds a little bold, God became not an Angel - He became a Man and raised human nature to the highest height to which a created being can rise. We are created to become gods by grace. Can we say that there is any dignity higher than this?

Thus, self-esteem is not inconsistent with Christian piety. However, immediately following this statement, we must make a reservation about what we consider to be a correct sense of self-worth, and what is a distorted idea of it.

If they hurt my pride, somehow trample on my pride, and I become indignant, irritated and angry, this speaks of a false understanding of my own dignity. In fact, no one is able to hurt or diminish the dignity that the Lord gave to man at creation, that is, the image of God. After all, the people around us cannot even reach our dignity - they strike something external that exists in us, but in no case our most important internal component. And only we ourselves, honored with the highest dignity, can deprive ourselves of this gift. Only we ourselves can live as if we don’t have it. So, being indignant that someone thinks and, even more so, speaks worse about us than we think about ourselves, we quite calmly literally trample our own dignity into the mud - into the mud of our sins, into the mud of our passions, into the mud of what some base interests.

And those insults and annoyances that people cause to us, or those circumstances that are difficult, on the contrary, can reveal the image and likeness of God in us. How? Through the willingness to treat this both complacently and with gratitude - that is, through humility. The awareness that you live in inconsistency with the highest position in which the Lord, by the gift of creation, placed man; The thought that you are trampling on your own dignity should not make you proud. Man was created in order to reign, but instead, like some dissolute son from the Gospel parable of the prodigal son, having squandered and lost everything, he eats the food of pigs and cannot return to his father’s house.

When discussing the attitude towards one’s own dignity, it is logical to talk about the attitude towards the dignity of another person, which is found in him in the same way as in us, because the Lord created him, and in him, too, the image and likeness of God is present, and for this The Lord crucified the man out of love for him. This is where we can pay tribute to the dignity hidden in a person to the fullest. But this is also very difficult.

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Remembering the famous advertising slogan “You are worth it,” many ask the question: is it permissible for a Christian to desire some earthly goods, earthly comfort, happiness? In my opinion, this question is not entirely correct. Indeed, for a person, the desire for well-being is completely natural, because at creation he was placed in wonderful conditions of existence - both from a certain external point of view, and from the point of view of the fact that he was actually made king over the entire visible world. Therefore, of course, a person wants to return, at least to some extent, to this state and to these conditions.

But such a desire should not acquire a passionate, painful character. We can strive for well-being, for a good position in life - but in no case as the main goal. These are things that only accompany our life. The first place should be the desire to be with God. And Christ’s words that first of all it is necessary to seek the Kingdom of God, and everything else will be added, is not only an indication of what needs to be sought first, but also of the condition under which everything else can be added. At the same time, by “everything else” we need to understand not what we want , but what we actually need .

Of course, a person should not be in a humiliated, downtrodden state: humility and devaluation of the human personality are still very different things, they are not equivalent. Moreover, it is wrong to perceive yourself as some kind of misunderstanding or failure, especially as a failure of the Creator: you should always remember who you are and how dear and important you are to God. But at the same time, there is no point in rebelling and being indignant about the fact that living conditions are not what we would like. And you shouldn’t see this as any success or failure in your life.

Each of us can become a good person. This is the most important self-realization

Once upon a time, the Monk Ambrose of Optina said wonderful words to one of the brethren who was awaiting tonsure and ordination: “Believe me, they can tonsure you, and ordain you, and they can make you anyone, but no one will ever make you a good person.” Each of us can become a good person. This is the most important self-realization. And moreover, when you become a good person, you become, oddly enough, happy, regardless of external circumstances. And then you are not depressed that someone has something that you don’t have, that someone is succeeding at work and moving up the career ladder, but you are not moving.

It may be objected to me: a person who has been in poor living and social conditions for a long time can, as they say, be eaten up by his environment, and at the same time it is very difficult not to become angry or bitter. But in fact, this seems to be an immutable truth only at first glance. A person is much more likely to be spoiled not by a difficult life, but by a prosperous life, in which he has no hardships and does not face any trials. There are many similar examples. And some difficult life circumstances contribute more to the development of a truly strong and independent character. Life in general is a very difficult matter; it is a very complex and interesting creative process. If we live it just like that or strive to live well, but fail materially or in some other way, then the environment eats us up, disfigures us, cripples us, bends us, then we begin to feel like some kind of walking misunderstandings. If our goal is to change and become people of God, if we are moving towards this goal, then life’s trials and disruptions only help us.

Looking at the world described in the Gospel, which surrounded Christ the Savior and His disciples, we see that it is the same as the modern world. He has the same “values”, he has the same ideas about what is important, the same desire for power, wealth and honor. The Lord gives us the law of life, which turns all these ideas upside down, because He says that the most valuable thing lies in the heart of a person: “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21), and calls to look for it, indicating on him as a source of happiness. Christ also commands those who want to be first to become last, and those who want to exalt themselves to humiliate themselves. That is, some completely opposite logic appears. And the person who talks about this theoretically cannot comprehend this, but the one who takes this path understands what the Lord is talking about.

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How to develop a proper sense of self-esteem? I think there is no more effective means than constantly looking at the image of Christ and striving to learn from Him to live in such a way as to make your life not only human, earthly, but also heavenly, Divine.

Of course, pride can find its basis in anything - even in the calling to be a disciple of Christ. But still, in addition to passions, a person also has reason, which will tell you how, feeling like a disciple of Christ, not to become proud, but, on the contrary, to be more and more humble. After all, as students, we objectively not only do not fulfill everything commanded to us, but we do practically nothing. Therefore, there is no reason for pride here, and any reasonable person understands this. By the way, rationality is also one of the manifestations of human dignity.

Correlation with self-esteem

Self-esteem has a close semantic connection with self-esteem, but is slightly different from it.

Self-esteem is an attitude towards oneself as a person with a certain set of individual qualities, a subjective emotional assessment of one’s own importance.

That is, self-respect focuses on how a person perceives himself, his “I”.

Self-esteem is a person’s awareness of his positive moral qualities, which influences his behavior in society and interaction with other people. That is, here we are talking more about orientation to the external environment, and not inside oneself.

However, many psychologists and sociologists emphasize the identity of these concepts, since in both cases we are talking about the individual’s sense of self.

A self-respecting person always has a sense of self-worth, and failure to accept one’s personality may well lead to a devaluation of existing moral qualities .

Personal dignity of a man

This characteristic of a representative of the stronger sex is inherent in those who know their place in life; most likely, they have already found their path, including a career, or are actively searching. This is a person who sensibly evaluates his pros and cons, and does not seek constant approval. I will list the characteristic features:

Doesn’t do things for the sake of other people’s opinions or their consent.
Does not insult others, elevating himself in comparison.
He defends his position.
Sets goals and achieves them.
Has an individual personality.
He is not afraid of mistakes, but finds experience in them, and no longer repeats mistakes.
Always maintains composure and does not show negative emotions.

When it helps

I have already noted that this is not some narrow competence that is needed only at a specific moment. This is a life position that is always involved. Self-worth does not turn on and off, it simply is. This is an innate feature that is accessible to some and not to others; on the contrary, everyone can get good self-esteem. If you are having difficulty with this, have lost faith in yourself, or have felt like a victim rather than a leader since early childhood, I recommend signing up for my consultation.

I will list life situations and areas of life where it is necessary to have self-esteem:

Romantic relationships and marriage. A woman's self-worth helps attract men who are confident in themselves. Usually, next to a strong and purposeful lady, you will rarely find a man who is able to raise his hand or who likes to drink - such guys themselves have very low self-esteem, which means they are simply afraid to approach a lady who, based on her ability to hold herself, is head and shoulders above them. Therefore, next to you will be a life partner who is not afraid of new achievements, is ready to improve himself and supports you in your endeavors. Men who are next to a girl with a low FSD often consciously or subconsciously try to limit the scope of women's accomplishments and achievements. It often looks like this: the husband builds a career, develops, goes to the gym and makes business acquaintances, while the wife stays at home with the children and confines herself to everyday life. If you do not want to become a victim in a relationship, but want to be partners, equal individuals who are not “subordinate,” you should spend more time developing yourself and your sense of self-worth.
Family, raising children. The younger generation looks to their parents, wanting to find role models. Confidence is a trait that completely helps to gain the respect of the weaker, and a child up to a certain age is a priori weaker than an adult. If your son/daughter does not find such an example or authority in you, he will look among those around him. It’s good if this is a teacher or father of the family, but it could be a “bad guy” from the senior class who does not suffer from low self-esteem. Only a strong and self-confident person can really raise children correctly, instill in them good manners and habits , share with them an interest in sports, studies, and art.
Career. We have already given an example with two applicants. It follows from it that understanding the value of one’s personality, one’s own successes, and achievements is an important quality when applying for a job, as well as when negotiating, communicating with superiors, and building business connections. An employee who lacks self-confidence is first on the list for dismissal, as well as overtime, unpaid sick leave and no promotion. CHSD will help you climb the career ladder, get a position that matches your competence, as well as develop and improve yourself in order to achieve more every year.
Friendship and camaraderie. Any communication (interpersonal, business) can occur according to two patterns: “equal to equal” or “subordinate to superior.” These schemes work in any situation. Scandalous behavior is one of the signs of low self-esteem.

This is an incomplete list of situations from areas of life when self-esteem will help. It is always important, every minute. You should wake up in the morning with the thought that you are a significant and irreplaceable part of the family and company.

Personal dignity of a woman

This feeling can be compared to inner harmony - the girl begins to listen to her own desires, sees her strengths and weaknesses, develops the former and eliminates the latter. Character traits:

He takes care of his own body - not to meet “standards”, but to maintain health and contentment with his reflection.
Allows you to take care of yourself - gratefully accepts compliments and gifts, does not strive to do everything yourself, gives a man the right to perform “male” duties.
She does not ask for love, but only gives reasons to be loved. Never “runs” after a young man.
She skillfully shares home problems and joys with work moments, never prefers one to the complete detriment of the other, finds compromises, remains a good employee and a loving mother and wife.