How valuable do you think you are?

What do you think you are adding to the world?

How do you know if you have value?

Some things in life are easy to determine in terms of value. If you walk into a convenience store and grab a bag of chips, you know when you walk to the cashier, they will give you a value you have to pay for those chips. The bag of chips has a quantifiable value. 

Most things in life operate in those simple terms. Almost everything can be evaluated. Businesses, land, homes, cars; our entire economy spends much of its time placing value on these objects.

How do we decide whether we have value?

Unfortunately, we often look to those items: houses, cars, jobs, and businesses; to tell us if we have value or not. We may say to ourselves, “I bought a house, I have a thriving business, I have a family and a retirement; therefore, I am valuable,” or “I have four dollars in my bank account and no job to speak of: that must mean I have no value.”

What does God think of your value? Would God be impressed by your houses, cars, or 401k? I imagine He might laugh if we tried to impress Him with that. Is God impressed by how many followers you have? I doubt it; Jesus probably had less than twenty “followers” at the end of his life. Does God look at the poor or powerless and say to himself, “Well, they have no value to the kingdom of God.”? Read Matthew 5 and tell me how you think God would answer that.

If God is the great equalizer and great judge, then perhaps the question we should all ask ourselves is; “What does God find valuable?” Or, if you’re brave enough to face it….ask, “Does God find me valuable?” The best part about these questions is that we already know the answer.

In Psalm 147:10-11, it says “He (God) is not impressed by the strength of a horse; he does not value the power of a warrior. The Lord values those who fear him, those who put their hope in his faithful love.” (CSB)

Simply put, God is not impressed by the things that we are impressed by. In the ancient world, owning a horse symbolized status and power. It gave you an advantage over your opponents in battle and allowed you to ride elevated over everyone else walking below you. The power of a warrior was also of great value. With constant raids and fighting between tribes, a mighty warrior could symbolize security and prosperity to a clan or family.

Yet, God is not impressed by either.  

What God does value often takes people by surprise.

The Lord values those who fear him. This fear refers more to a sense of reverence than fear. When God sees you giving reverence and respect to who he is, he values that. When God sees you putting hope in his faithful love, he deems that priceless! 

How do we do that? How do we live in the fear of God and put our hope in his faithful love?

Honestly, it’s a lifelong, daily process. For me, it means getting up every day and deciding that I am His, no one else’s. I strive to make each tiny moment and decision from my loyalty to God. Remembering that my life belongs to Him and I am His eternal servant. I frequently get distracted and lose sight of the prize, but it’s a constant work to remember to reorient my heart in this direction.

I also try each day to remember to place my hope in his faithful love. I am lost without it. When the world sees what I do as invaluable or inconsequential, I meditate on His faithful love and what he deems valuable. The world has a different currency than God. But for me, his presence and his lasting love far outweigh any earthly thing of value.

I encourage you, during times of prayer, to spend time meditating on the very nature of God.

Think about who He is. Contemplate His strength and beauty and eternal qualities. Then, spend a few moments thinking and dwelling on God’s faithful love. Love that is so loyal and strong that not even sin would stop it. Love so pure that He would allow His son to suffer brutally to bring you back to Him. Just sixty seconds of thinking about God’s faithful love will give you hope throughout your day.

Remember how valuable you are to Him as you rest in your reverence of God and the hope of his faithful love.

As Jesus said in Luke 12:5-7;  

“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.  Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”