EN-①-B-03- Basic Teaching 2026 Edition (ver.9) B Group Relationships with Others
(Part 3) Values and Falsehood 2025/07/17
Among the causes that hinder relationships with others are “jealousy and strife.” One of the reasons these arise is due to false values. These are brought about by many factors, but here are four that come to mind briefly.
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1) Values of a Godless World
This world teaches, “The universe came into existence by chance.” If pursued to its conclusion, this results in the idea that “human existence has no meaning.” If one thinks this way, one will eventually lose sight of the very meaning of one’s own life.
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2) Competitive Society
According to a worldview without God, this world is sustained by “natural selection” and “survival of the fittest.” Even if it outwardly proclaims equality and peace, its value system is one where “those who survive competition are the righteous ones.”
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3) The Influence of Media
What reinforces such values is the influence of media. Through television, magazines, and internet news, these ideas enter unconsciously, and people often don’t even realize they are being influenced in a mind-controlling way.
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4) Corporate-ocracy (Corporate-centered Society)
Because corporations pursue profit, they devote themselves to creating trends and marketing strategies to make people buy unnecessary things.
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5) Social Media, etc.
Today, what influences our thinking is social media such as Instagram and Facebook. Its impact is immeasurable.
Through these means, people share only the highlight moments of their lives with the whole world. Whatever their actual life may be, by appearing in a timeline, it automatically gives rise to complex feelings in others.
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When one is contaminated by such false values, what arises is conflict, discord, and feelings of inferiority in relationships with others.
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(James 4:1) What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 4:2 You want something but don’t get it, so you kill. You covet, but you cannot have what you want, so you quarrel and fight. (latter half omitted)
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■ A Right Self-Image
In order to live without being deceived by false values in society, it is necessary to acquire a correct identity. If you can say, “No matter what others say, I am me,” you will be protected from many things.
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Of course, this does not mean mere self-satisfaction or stubborn self-assertion is good. Rather, we need a correct self-image that comes from a biblical worldview?shaped by learning from the Bible, worship, prayer, and fellowship in the church.
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The ways to acquire this right self-image can be broadly divided into two. Of course, there are many, but the two most important ones are as follows. And both of them involve “unconditional love.”
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■ Relationship with God
The first is our relationship with God, who created us and gave us life. God Himself is the source of our identity. It is natural that a creation receives its value from its creator. Look around us?desks, chairs, bags, ceilings?everything is made by human hands, and each of them has a reason for being made and a purpose for existence.
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The value of existence given by the Creator applies to each individual as well. Each person has a unique role that only they can fulfill, and God has a purpose for every single one of us. There is no one without value.
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Furthermore, this value is guaranteed by the salvation we received through the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
The life of Christ, who died as a substitute for our sins, has been recognized as of such worth that it could save all humanity.
By dying for us, Christ demonstrated unconditional love. (Romans 5:8) Therefore, by believing in Jesus and building a relationship with God, we can have a right self-image.
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“You are precious and honored in my sight, and I love you.” (Isaiah 43:4) Just as these words declare, within a relationship with God we can discover our true value and receive a right self-image.
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■ In Relationship with Parents
The second way is through the parent-child relationship during one’s growth, especially in early childhood.
Even though a newborn baby does nothing, he or she is cared for. In a sense, this is an experience of unconditional love. This experience produces an unshakable, invincible self-image?a firm confidence without logical grounds, but strong nonetheless.
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However, everyone participating in this study is no longer a baby, and some may think, “Even if I grew up under bad parents, the past cannot be changed?so what’s the point of bringing this up now?”
Yet understanding this mechanism is related to the healing and restoration of those areas.
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Of course, there are terrible or neglectful parents. But at least in the newborn stage, not everything was entirely bad. In the process of care, the baby is touched and held, which means some degree of physical affection was present. Furthermore, no matter what kind of parents they were, at the very least, during the fetal stage one spent time in the comfortable environment of the womb. In this sense, some emotional nurturing of unconditional love was received.
The reason for stating this is to let you know that everyone has had some experience of unconditional love.
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That said, in reality, children grow up being wounded by their parents. This is the case even in good families. In fact, the better the parents, the more likely the child suppresses themselves, thinking, “I must not resent my parents,” which can make problems even more complicated.
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Moreover, today, many people are raised in environments of “parental indifference,” “excessive expectations,” “parents with addictions,” or “abuse.” Instead of being nurtured, their hearts are driven into harmful conditions.
Also, growing up under legalistic parents, perfectionist parents, or those who never praise but only point out mistakes to build the child up?these cause low self-image and hinder the reception of a healthy identity.
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When this happens, people tend to struggle more in life?for example, being unable to set proper boundaries in relationships.
Or they may “grovel for someone’s approval,” “be unable to accept others’ kindness,” or “end up controlling or being controlled by others,” making it difficult to build healthy relationships.
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On the other hand, those with a strong self-image tend to be protected in their hearts, even if they face bullying or failure.
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■ Inferiority Complex and Pride Share the Same Root
King Saul of Israel was tall and handsome, yet somehow he had a complex (1 Samuel 10:22, 10:27). When he won victories in battle, he built a monument for himself (1 Samuel 15:12). From this, we see that “pride and inferiority” share the same root.
Looking at Saul’s life, we can see that unless this issue is healed, a person will sink into despair when they fail and become arrogant and haughty when they succeed.
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■ Recovery of Identity
In this, the church community will surely be helpful for restoration.
The study later on, “Boundaries B-06,” will also be helpful in this regard.
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If this healthy identity is not restored, even when serving in the same ministry, frustration will arise. One might think, “I’m working so hard, but others do nothing.” Or one might try to do everything perfectly, putting pressure on those around them.
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Therefore, for the recovery of identity and the healing of the heart, it is necessary to go through certain processes.
However, even wounds received in family life can be healed and overcome by being planted within the community.