A lot of people live a mediocre life, not because they aim high and miss but because they aim low and hit. Whereas the Main Character Syndrome is a noisy disease, inferiority complex is like the other extreme that destroys more people than we think. Pride is a garment that easily looks ugly on anyone who wears it. It is false humility that people wear with pride and still get praised for it. False humility is true pride. Today, let’s expose it quickly!
What is inferiority complex? Biblically, I’ll define it as seeing yourself less than how God sees you, and settling with that mindset. Starting small is fine. Humble beginnings are good. Staying small is not. Not expecting growth is a disease. There’s no great person who does not have a mindset of greatness, even before they saw results. Inferiority complex is seeing small and thinking small, even though greater is He that is in thee.
Exposing Inferiority Complex
Inferiority complex; seeing things closer to you, including yourself, as small and only seeing things afar as great. You only admire greatness because it’s far from you. When it’s finally near you, you reduce it to your level. When a friend shares a great idea with you, you immediately belittle it. If a great person you so admire comes close, you unconsciously look for flaws so as to undermine them.
Another variation is condemning great people you don’t know, and thinking your ideas (which you never work on), are better and greater. It’s easy to castigate leaders because you’re not one. Once you start to take responsibility as a leader, you’ll appreciate the leaders you have gone ahead of you. Acting unimpressed does not make you great. Acting responsibly does.
One reason for inferiority complex is the idea that God has placed an embargo on your destiny and that’s why you don’t want to expand your business or grow beyond a certain scope. For that, we’ll discuss the difference between boundaries and limitations. Don’t equate stupidity to spirituality by thinking mediocrity means humility. Instead of being transformed, we cover our inferiority complex with spirituality. Yet, we want to be unexpectedly catapulted into greatness without process. Meanwhile, building momentum via diligence provides a surer outcome.
Another reason for inferiority complex is that “God has not given me specific instructions to follow”. Because of this, we confuse waiting on God with the mere passage of time. While, you’re waiting, make sure you’re going about your business. Jesus picked disciples who were already productive. You can’t be doing nothing in the name of waiting on God. God uses all our experiences, and none of them goes to waste. Paul was a tentmaker and God made him build the church. Peter was a fisherman and Jesus made a fisher of men. David was a shepherd boy and God took him to shepherd His people. Even the devil does not use lazy people.
Boundary vs Limitations
First of all, you need to understand the difference between these two. God doesn’t place limitations on us. What He places are boundaries. Eg. One is called to be a missionary to a village and the other is called to pastor a megachurch in the city. Those are boundaries. Yes, you’re not permitted to do all this but do you that “little” God has called you to do? It’s not little at all. Don’t underestimate it. Do it greatly. If you’re called to the village, take over the village by storm. Nobody has a “little” role to play in the Kingdom. Always remember; God has never called anyone to do anything small. You are calling it small but God isn’t. He will do great wonders with anything small.
It’s just like the parts of the body. Each part of the body has their unique ability and function. If the hand tries to do what the feet is designed to do, it will naturally struggle. Now there are parts of your body that you cannot live a second without. There are also others that when missing, you’ll still be alive. You need to have a heart but you can live without your thumb. However, do you know how important your thumb is to your entire body? Belittling the one talent God has given you is false humility. God has not placed a single limitation on you. It’s only from one tree you cannot eat. You can plant more trees. You can replicate the garden all over the earth. There are no limitations, only boundaries.
One huge limitation in inferiority complex is thinking it’s about us. So all this while, you think it’s about you. That’s why you want something small; a nice house, a good car, a simple family and you’re good to go at this point in life. My dear, don’t let life bully you. What God wants to do with you goes beyond you. We are called to disciple nations, remember? There’s the personal, family, community and national level. Very few people take care of nations. You should be able to lend to nations. Have that mindset. There are widows and orphans and so many problems in the world. Let God raise you as a deliverer, a judge, a king, a prophet, an apostle, a shepherd, a saviour etc. so He can work with you to solve these problems in the world.
Decisions Determine Destiny
So if God has placed no limitations on you, it means within the boundaries He sets for you, there are endless possibilities available to you. God is sovereign, yes. What He set was your boundaries, not your limitations. Then He gave you freewill by His omnibenevolence. Therefore, how far you reach is determined by you. The decisions you make will determine the scope of your destiny. How much you can take will be determined by your capacity.
God is a God of abundance, not waste. He gives according to your abilities. That means two important things; if God gives you something to do, that means He knows fully well that you can handle it. It also means how much He can give you is not only determined by Him, but by you. He does not force anything on anyone. He is more than willing to give; it is your capacity to receive that determines what you receive. Therefore, be diligent! Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
So you see that your destiny is not cast in stone? God did not create robots. He created you to participate. Don’t get me wrong; what He has written concerning you in your books is established. However, it is not rigid. God intentionally left some things opened so you can participate. There are a lot of freewill decisions you can do within the boundaries of God’s Will for your life. Therefore, in areas where God does not give you specific instructions, obey the general instructions of the Word and you’ll still be in alignment.
Spiritualities & Physicalities
Superspirituality is inferiority complex in disguise. Because tell me why you want to use spirituality to do something you can do physically. God does not do magic. Has anyone’s teeth been brushed by angels before? Instead of taking action, we want to send God on an errand to do it for us. Spiritual things are done spiritually. Physical things are done physically. Of course, there is always an interplay between the two realms where something done in the spirit affects the physical realm and vice versa. However, it’s laziness to use spiritual means to do something physical.
Apply for the job. There’s nothing wrong with actually applying. Those who didn’t apply for the job they got actually applied for other jobs. It’s easier to shift the blame to God when nothing is happening. Because of the fear of failure, we don’t want to try and fail. Propose to the lady. God has given you the sign, given you the desire and given you the opportunity. Why are you telling God to tell her for you? Be bold and ask for that request. It will be given to you. You’ve prayed and hit a note of victory. Continuing to pray for an answer you’ve already received is a prayer backed by fear. Take action!
We pray for God to show what to do. That’s participation. We pray for God to give us an idea. There’s definitely something we can do physically. Praying for God to do something you’re supposed to do is usually a hidden symptom of inferiority complex. God wants to raise us. He wants to make you bold and courageous. It’s toddlers who are always pointing for things to be done for them. If stepping out in faith sounds like a false doctrine to you, that’s inferiority complex speaking to you. Stop sending God on errands. He will do only what He can, and will never do what you’re supposed to do. Otherwise, you’ll never take responsibility. What a Father He is!
Doubting God, Believing satan?
When God appeared to Gideon, He called him a mighty man of valour. Gideon saw himself as far less and had settled for that. We saw the symptoms at play; blaming God, because that’s the easiest thing to do. Everyone is at fault except you because you have “great ideas” of should-haves and could-haves but zero responsibility. When it comes to your destiny, the devil has no say on how far you go. Only you! Believe God. He made you. He knows you, and predestined you. Trust Him. He is the Truth. What He says concerning you is faithful and true. Why are you comfortable doubting Him?
If God says one thing, we doubt Him for so long and keep asking Him for affirmation. If the devil says one stupid thing, we don’t even doubt it and we run with it like it’s Gospel truth. God says “a city set on a hill cannot be hidden”. Why have you put your light under a basket to accommodate the darkness. If you believe the whispers of the devil, you have robbed yourself of your own destiny. The best the enemy can do is to suggest. The final decision is in your hands. Whose report will you believe? As long as you pay attention to satan, you’re guaranteed to remain small. Let the great God make you great by His great Word.
It is the Word of God that will renew your mind. Once you believe what God says about you, you have already stepped into greatness even before manifestation confirm. If God has told you He will give you a private jet, believe Him while you ride the bike. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. Inferiority complex is wishing for greatness and making mediocre decisions and thinking by some magical favour of luck, we will find ourselves at the top. Even the kingdom of darkness does not operate that way. In fact, our corporate world does not operate that way. It’s only inferiority complex that will cause a person to think like that.
Mindset Shift
You can become small by accident but nobody becomes great by accident. Anything you get by luck cannot be maintained. Eg. If God has told you He will give you a private jet, you’ll ride a bike, a motorcycle, a car and a bus but still have that vision ahead of you that is predetermining your path. As aforementioned, God does not do magic. You’re renting now, but you know that as you keep building momentum, you create an landing space for God’s promised blessings to manifest. For you, it may look like David came out of nowhere to kill Goliath out of the blue. However, David was over-prepared before the day of his manifestation. His mindset shifted long before the manifestation.
Expecting the private jet while you’re still renting is non-sensical. Jet fuel alone will cripple you at this level of capacity. Stop believing in some magical favour. God does things belong human logic but God is not illogical. Expecting great blessings out of the blue on something you’re doing in a small way with a small mindset is believing in magic. You’ll get heart attack when the blessings even land because it will be way beyond your capacity. Somehow, we forget that blessings need to be maintained. A blessing you can’t maintain becomes like a burden and a curse, which will cause you to blame God later. Thus, God will not cast His pearls before swine or give what is holy to dogs.
See the truth of the matter is, the only person belittling you is you. Heaven highly adores you and hell highly esteems you. That notwithstanding, how you see yourself is more important than how anyone else sees you. If you think you’re small although God says you’re great, you’ll be small. When God gives you a mandate, think from Heaven towards earth and not from earth towards Heaven. You are truly seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You have dual citizenship, and you cannot do heavenly assignments with earthly things. God wants to give you ten cities but He will give you 5 talents first. May He find you as a good and faithful servant who can be put in charge of many. AMEN!