Are you a person looking for value of who you are in life? Do you strive for approval from others, or do you relish relationships that offer total acceptance? How about gaining recognition from achievements or accomplishments? Do you chase after money or material goods as a sign of prestige? What about a job title or position, or appearing as a good person?
If you have ever sought value in who you are in life, you probably have already discovered: of all the above mentioned, NONE WORKED. One may ask, “I’m not self-focused, but how do I find value? How do I discover my worth?”
I want to clarify the terms ‘value’ and ‘worth’ according to The Random House College Dictionary and Google, so we are on the same page with this blog.
Value: of intrinsic excellence or desirability. Value is used in the sense of importance. When referring to material goods, value is how much a customer thinks something is worth to him/her.
Worth: good or important enough to justify; excellence of character or quality as commending esteem; the level at which someone deserves to be valued. If speaking of merchandise, an item is worth something when the market is willing to pay a price.
We received an email from an Air Force buddy of Burt’s that speaks of man’s definitions as to who we are. Here’s an excerpt from “I used to be a Normal Person.”
“As a man, I used to think I was pretty much just a regular person, but I was born white, into a two-parent household which now makes me ‘privileged’ and responsible for slavery. I am a fiscal and moral conservative, which by today’s standards, makes me a fascist. I went to high school, got in some college, and have always held a job; but now I find out that I am here because I was ‘advantaged.’ I am not a Muslim which now labels me as an infidel. I am older than 60, making me a useless eater who doesn’t understand Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. I think and I reason, and I doubt much of what the ‘main media’ tells me, which makes me a ‘right-wing conspiracy nut.’ Please help me come to terms with the new me because I’m just not sure who I am anymore or even if I have any value as a human being.
So, do we seek our value – our worth – in ourselves; our feelings, emotions and beliefs; our approval from others? Do we search for value and worth in relationships; our achievements; our material things; in our jobs? Do we lose or gain value or worth in man’s unreliable definitions of who we are in this slot of history? Absolutely not.
Here is a positively trustworthy statement ~
It doesn’t matter what color our skin is or what part of the world we live in, when each one of us comes to the realization that because Jesus Christ valued us, it is because of Him and what it cost Him, that we discover our worth.
Re-read the definitions of value and worth again. Now put yourself in the definitions, and see yourself from Jesus’ perspective.