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Searching for Your Self-Worth
By Shey Smith
Do you ever wonder how much you are valued as a person? Many of us may struggle at times to realize our self-worth, often due to a dip in our self-esteem. So where does one find their self-worth? Today’s world might define self-worth as a net of your financial assets and liabilities, or in terms of how many people you know, or how highly you think of yourself. Scientists say that the elements that make up our body are worth about $24.
As Christians however, these evaluations are meaningless in trying to find our self-worth. To begin, let’s look at how I like to recognize self-worth in less materialistic terms. I find my self-worth is positively influenced in many ways:
Love, Faith & Hope In 1 Corinthians 13:1-12, Paul spends the entire chapter describing Love as the greatest quality one can possess. Love includes supporting our brethren, family, friends, and even strangers, selflessly. In addition to this, we see that Paul includes Faith & Hope at the end of the chapter (verse 13). We know that Faith & Hope are the foundations of our day-to-day Christian lives, and without them, it is impossible to please Him. Peter also states that our Faith is worth more than precious gold (1 Peter 1:7). Wisdom Wisdom is our next source of worth. The Bible beautifully explains the importance and value of Wisdom in our lives. Proverbs 4:7 tells us to seek Wisdom first, “Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And whatever else you do, get good judgment” (New Living Translation). Moreover, in Proverbs 20:15 and Job 28:18, Wisdom’s true value is portrayed. Wisdom includes the previous example of having good judgment, which is also related to key qualities of leadership and integrity. Zeal Philippians 3 provides excellent motivation for our third source of worth, Zeal. This chapter demonstrates the tireless diligence needed to become more and more like Christ, by getting to know Him better. Verses 7-11 summarize the importance of becoming one with Christ, and achieving our ultimate goal, salvation. Paul prays in Colossians 1:9-10: ...We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better.Just as we were created in God’s image, we must continually mold ourselves after Christ’s example as our way of life. God values us more than we could value any amount of money; our worth is immeasurable! Deuteronomy 26:18, tells us that we are God’s “treasured possession.” Amazing! Our awesome God, who has unlimited power, majesty, and glory, finds us to be valuable. If ever we are looking for a price tag of how much we are worth, consider that “we were bought by the Blood of our Saviour,” Jesus Christ even before the world began! Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His un-changing plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven.” (Ephesians 1:4-7 NLT) i | |