Robert McGee - The Search for Significance: Seeing Your True Worth Through Gods Eyes

THE
SEARCH
FOR
SIGNIFICANCE
BOOK AND WORKBOOK
Revised and Expanded

ROBERT S. MCGEE

Copyright 1998, 2003 by Robert S. McGee

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1977 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Other Scripture references are from the following sources:

The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

The King James Version of the Bible (KJV).

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McGee, Robert S.
The search for significance / by Robert S. Mcgee.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: The search for significance book. 2nd ed. c1990.
Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 10: 0-8499-4424-4
ISBN 13: 978-0-8499-4424-6

1. Self-esteemReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. Christian life. I. McGee,
Robert S. Search for significance book. II. Title
BV4647.S43M387 1998
248.4dc21

9810096
CIP

Printed in the United States of America
07 08 09 10 RRD 22 21 20 19 18

To my wife, Marilyn, who has given of herself so that
I might minister these truths, both personally
and now by the written word.

CONTENTS

3. The Performance Trap
I must meet certain standards to feel good about myself.

5. Approval Addict
I must be approved by certain others to feel good about myself.

7. The Blame Game
Those who fail are unworthy of love and deserve to be punished.

9. Shame
I am what I am. I cannot change. I am hopeless.

Special Website

The concepts presented in this book have been utilized at our counseling centers and seminars for many years. The results have been so phenomenal that we were compelled to produce this book.

Many have contributed to The Search for Significance. I want to thank Larry Gillum, Rujon Morrison, LaDean Williamson, and Marland Williamson for their insights, friendship, and assistance, which have been invaluable to me in the preparation of this book. I especially want to thank my mother, Minerva McGee. Each of these has made significant contributions to The Search for Significance. I also express my appreciation to the many who, with great dedication, spread the message of these truths.

When God gave me the essence of this book in 1980 while I was directing counseling centers in Houston, I never would have guessed that over the next twenty-three years it would be received as enthusiastically and change as many lives as it has. In addition to the humbling fact that over two million people have read The Search for Significance, colleagues of mine have presented this material to people from almost one hundred countries around the world. I myself have even had the opportunity to present these truths to over thirty thousand psychiatric patients in twenty-seven hospitals over a ten-year period.

Throughout the years, Ive had the joy of meeting people who have read The Search for Significance, and though the plots of their individual stories always differ, the theme of their stories seems almost always to be the same. They tell me that God met them while they were reading this book, and that through the truths presented here He showed them how much He loves them. They then tell me that in finally understanding how much God loves them, their lives were changed from that moment forward. They found a freedom they never imagined was possible.

When Christ told His disciples, Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32 KJV), He was referring not only to an intellectual assent to the truth but also to the application of truth in the most basic issues of life: our goals, our motives, and our sense of self-worth. Unfortunately, many of us give only lip service to the powerful truths of the Scriptures without allowing them to affect the basis of our self-esteem in a radical way. Instead, we continue to seek our security and purpose from worldly sources: personal success, status, beauty, wealth, and the approval of others. These rewards may fulfill us for a short time, but they soon lead us to a sense of urgency to succeed and the need to be approved of again.

To meet these compelling needs, we drive ourselves to achieve, doing virtually anything to make people happy with us, and we spend countless hours and dollars trying to look just right. Often, we avoid situations and people when the risks of failure and rejection are high. Its a rat race that cant be won by simply running faster. We need to get off this hopeless treadmill and learn to apply the foundational truths that can motivate us to live for Christ rather than for the approval of other people.

Christs death paid the penalty for our sins, and His resurrection gives us new life, new goals, and new hope. He has given us complete security and challenging purpose. These are based not on our abilities but on His grace and the power of His Spirit. Yes, Christ wants us to be zealous and ambitious, but not about our success or status. If we understand His forgiveness and acceptance, we will pursue the right thingsChrist and His causeand we will be free to enjoy His love.

The principles and insights in this book have been gleaned from years of counseling experience and from the writings of many psychologists and Bible teachers. I am indebted to their scholarship and wisdom.

This book focuses on how our thoughts affect our emotional, relational, and spiritual development. It is not a textbook for professionals. Instead, the goal of this book is to enable a wide range of people to apply the Scriptures specifically and deeply to real issues in their lives. The scope of this material does not include some factors. For instance, some emotional problems have a physiological source (schizophrenia, learning disabilities, chemical imbalances, and so forth); and some disorders have their roots in emotional and relational pain but are complicated by physiological symptoms like chronic fatigue, mood swings, weight loss or gain, and migraines. These factors, if they exist, should certainly be addressed by a competent, qualified physician or psychotherapist.

The response from those who have read the book and used the workbook has been overwhelming. It is my prayer that the Lord will use these materials to convince you of His love, forgiveness, and purposes for your life.

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf (2 Cor. 5:1415).

Chapter 1
THE LIGHT COMES ON

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.