2. MY WORTH IS NOT DETERMINED BY WHAT I DO OR HAVE DONE, WHAT I HAVE OR DON’T HAVE, MY APPEARANCE OR WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK OF ME.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR WORTH AND VALUE, WHAT EVIDENCE DO YOU USE TO MEASURE?
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE THAT YOU ARE TEMPTED TO LOOK DOWN ON?
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE YOU TEND TO LOOK UP TO?
Although it may not be obvious, it seems that humanity imagines and thinks a lot about their worth. We easily judge others as more or less valuable and important than ourselves. We care very much about what others think about us. We spend much time, energy, and money on projecting a positive image of ourselves.
We reward people for their achievements or their appearance. We incarcerate people for bad behaviors. We manipulate and oppress those we don't like or think of as less than us. We envy those who seem to be worth more than us. All of this reflects how we see ourselves and how we see others.
At our deepest core, we long to be worthy. But the problem is that the standards we use to establish our worth and make us feel good about ourselves are inadequate and broken. Rather than beginning with a belief that we are supremely worthy, we strive to earn our worth by working, competing, gathering, judging, etc.…
We live in a material world and, understandably, we see our lives and our worth from a material perspective. But if we think about what brings us joy and what matters to us, we find that the non-material part of our lives is even more important than the material. Having possessions seems important but what we really desire is the peace, joy, contentment, and love we think those things will bring.
We work all our lives to acquire things, knowing that in the end we will leave it all behind. We strive to control, accumulate, and enjoy others, but what we long for are deep relationships that affirm us and bring love into our lives.
So, we have two ways of looking at our lives, two ways of pursuing our desires: the material, and the non-material or spiritual. These two perspectives also apply to how we see ourselves, our image of ourselves, and our worth. It is essential to know and believe that our worth is not determined by our material existence. We are not what we own, not what we have accomplished, not what we hold power over, not how we look, and not what others think of us.
Our worth and value was determined at creation. When God chose to make humans in his image, he created something that had supreme value. We aren’t valuable because of what we as humans can do, but simply because we were made in God's image. This image and reality encompasses our capacity to hold intimate relationships, to both give and receive love. It allows us to experience joy, peace, contentment, patience, kindness, gentleness, and goodness.
None of this is determined by our physical world but rather exists in our spiritual reality. This is not to say that our physical world and our physical bodies, are unimportant. Only that our physical world does not determine our worth.