I thought it was fitting to write this post immediately following my last one titled "What You're Worth." There is a fine line between being confident in who you are and arrogantly believing you are the greatest thing in the world. I have encountered several people who are confident and many people who are arrogant. The difference is always evident upon first meeting someone. Allow me to share some of the key differences between confidence and arrogance.
Confidence is the ability to recognize one's worth and individuality with a humble spirit, accepting that there are diverse talents according to each person. Arrogance is the inability to recognize that other people are unique in their own way, and failing to look beyond self. To be confident in oneself is to strive toward being the best version of self, relying on God and appreciating the constructive advice of others. To be arrogant is to have an attitude of competition and looking down on others to verify self-worth, never accepting constructive criticism. Confidence is Christ-centered, while arrogance is self-centered. Maybe you've heard all of this before, but I feel like the differences need to be recognized so there is no room for misconception.
One of my pet peeves is arrogant people. I cannot stand to see someone belittling others because they don't have enough confidence in themselves. I see it all the time, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Social media has become an outlet for harassment, one that continually fuels arrogance. While we're on this topic, let's talk about the new app called Sarahah. I think the app goes both ways. Either you're an arrogant person who wants to know you're still as awesome as you thought you were, or you're a person who struggles with confidence and want people to build you up so that you can feel better about yourself. I want to make a disclaimer here: I DO NOT have Sarahah. There are several reasons why, but mostly because I don't feel like I need validation from other people to be confident in myself. Additionally, downloading the app opens up a world of cyber bullying when the anonymous messages are no longer nice, but rude and hurtful. People don't have the guts to say it to your face because their pride gets in the way. They can't risk you finding out who they are because they know it would hurt their reputation; therefore, arrogance fuels these messages. If you're reading this, please don't take this as a "call out" post. I am merely stating what I have seen from personal experience, and my opinion about the app. God knows your heart, but I hope and pray you are practicing confidence in Christ, rather than arrogance and self-centeredness in your life. The world needs to see Christ in you, so don't open yourself up to the possibility of blurring the lines between confidence and arrogance.
Thanks for reading! God Bless!
