My Worth

“A diamond is a girl’s best friend” We’ve all heard this before. But is it true? Is it the value we “mistakenly” attribute to the diamond that we feel as inherent or is it that we feel valued when such a rare product is presented to us? A diamond, after all is nothing more than a pressurized rearrangement of standard and commonplace carbon molecules done under immense pressure and heat over long periods of time. It’s a lump of coal.

If people decided that the diamond, beautiful as it may be once precisely cut, is of no value, would the diamond be any different? Would it feel bad? Of course not. Value is something placed upon people and things by people and God. The one that really matters is the latter.

Self-Esteem, your true worth or value is not something derived from your assets, your job title, your bank account your appearance, your skills, or how many wonderful and unique things you have accomplished.

It is not even something you can come up with yourself. Like a diamond, you don’t name your price. The one who made or understands the every facet of a diamonds make-up (no pun intended) sets the value.

But even today in our age of enlightenment we find ourselves hurt and slighted by someone else’s lack of perception of OUR intrinsic value. A lack of recognition for work well done. Undeserved blame. Passed over for promotion in lieu of excellence we find ourselves in limbo. Stapled in place by hurts and angry feelings.

And why? Why are we so in need of the acceptance of others?

I believe it is because we are failing to recognize our own intrinsic value as placed by the one who created us. And, as we move farther out of relationship with Him, we seek to find our value, to replace it, or reassess it through worldly means. Jobs. Successes. Recreational busyness. Appearance. Highly visible activities. You name it. We've seen it in a thousand flavors in people around us and in ourselves.

But like I said earlier, an objects value is determined not by the art but by the artist.

God set your value. Keep in mind that His word says that you were made in His image.

So, what does God say about your inherent value? I’m going to let you do a little research here for yourself. Try the following verses:

Psalm 8: 3-5
Psalm 139: 17-18
Luke 12: 6-7

Do you believe it? Or, do you have lingering doubts?

I think young people today have a big issue with this. An instilled doubt as to their worth. I’ve noticed that this generation has a very hard time looking me or others in the eye. But, as I dig deeper in, I find that most will not even look themselves in the eye. They despise what they see when they look into the mirror. This is so sad. What they are failing to see is the person that God loves so very much in all their uniqueness.

Remember this by the late theologian Helmut Thielicke: “God does not love you because you are valuable; you are valuable because He loves you.”

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Norman Vincent Peale, in Power of the Plus Factor, tells how he came across a tattoo studio in Kowloon in Hong Kong. In the window, among samples of words or images one could have tattooed on one's body, were the words Born to lose.

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Peal says: I entered the shop in astonishment and, pointing to those words, asked the Chinese tattoo artist, "Does anyone really have that terrible phrase, Born to lose, tattooed on his body?"

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He replied, "Yes, sometimes."

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"But," I said, "I just can't believe that anyone in his right mind would do that."

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The Chinese man simply tapped his forehead and said in broken English, "Before tattoo on body, tattoo on mind."

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Do you constantly compare yourself to others? See yourself as less capable, less attractive, or less successful? Why? Consider the following:

Philippians 2: 3
Romans 12: 3

So, thinking yourself, or should I say considering yourself less than others means we will consider other more.

If we are to think about others and the situations of others before our own, what should the results be? We’ll see that we are capable of great things. We’ll see that God can work through us. We’ll see that we are truly important to Him and that He wants to spend eternity with us. We’ll learn through experience that we are truly valuable to Him and that He already paid the ultimate cost to prove it to us.