IS “SELF”- WORTH IT?
Sunday’s Monday
As a resident of planet earth for over 71 years, I have come to realize the true value of self-worth. Instead of those overly exaggerated (I am the greatest) versions or the vastly depreciated (poor me) renditions, which we portrayed because of false information supplied from a faulty self-examination directed by human intellect. We humans, confuse fact with pride, as we are filled with a need that we can’t explain or express, we fill in the gaps with human feelings. I believe one of and maybe the main reason for these two extremes and all in between, is our upbringing. Children are pressured to succeed, to be the best at everything, notice not their best “but the best” at everything. “Truth,” some overachieve while others can’t! Sadly, adults tend to apply too much selfish pride in child-rearing, we pressure them to make us look good without concern for the children’s gifting and abilities. We program and implant our perception of everything we want them to think and believe, from birth to death. It doesn’t matter what stage of life you're in today, if God’s not in it, you’ll never realize your true self-worth. We either do or did not meet parental expectations which can continually imbue who we think we are. I am sure you’ve heard the saying hero or zero, well it is playing out every day in some shape or form in everyone’s life. Which fuels the pattern controlling our attitude toward ourselves. When people ask, “what is wrong with the kids today” I answer, “we stop molding children into what God intended them to be at a very young age.” We’re surrendering our children to this world's rule because of our pride!
The reality of this life on planet Earth is, something is only worth what someone else will pay for it! Now, let that sink in for a minute. Then read Romans 5:8 (NLT), But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Have you thought about the price Jesus paid for each of us? This should push our self-worth to a new level of humility! The depreciated should move up and the exaggerators should calm down. The beauty behind God’s value system is, we’re all equal in His sight. We are the most precious of everything He created, and Jesus proved that point when He went to the cross to offer us eternal life. Jesus paid the ultimate price to allow each of us to become children of the Most-High God! I’ve heard it said a lot in my lifetime, God valued us enough to send Jesus (His only Son) to die for us but I can’t accept that in totality because Jesus didn’t stay dead, His value of us continues for all eternity, ergo the term He valued is wrong, “He values us.” Another value booster is found in Matthew 18:12-14 (NLT), 12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish. The love that God has for His created gives us abundant unmeasurable worth regardless of stature, ethnicity, Nationality, His Holy Spirit is continually calling for the lost.
It is important to understand that God is not lost, and He knows where each of us is at any given moment. It is equally important to understand that not all God’s calls will be answered by His sheep. Some will refuse, others will ignore, and a few will surrender their lives over to the Great Shepherd (Jesus) trusting Him to lead, provide and protect them. It’s all about choice! God doesn’t demand that we follow Him, for then we would be no more than mindless machines. He desires we choose to follow Him, building a loving relationship as we go. Now, as for those who refuse His call, they would rather pay the unthinkable price of being separated from God for all eternity just to live the status quo, as for those who intellectually accept Jesus (better known as fence riders) because they can’t commit to living too deeply on either side of said fence. In any case, they all would rather live with misdirected knowledge of self than to seek a better way of life. The majority of these have already sold out to self-will, sacrificing their self-worth to worldly ways without ever understanding their true value. Matthew poses a valid question for us to ponder in Matthew 16:26 (NLT), And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
I am praying this week from the book of Ephesians, asking that each reader find a spark of encouragement to strengthen their self-worth through Ephesians 2:4-5 (NLT), 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) Thank you, Lord, for Matthew 16:26, may we read and readjust our self-worth accordingly. Amen
HAVE A BLESSED WEEK BY BEING A BLESSING TO OTHERS!
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