“Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, please show me a face that is fair–at all! Scale, Scale, on the floor, please show me a winning score!”
Who has NOT struggled, at some time, with their physical appearance? Focus on physique permeates every aspect of our lives. Our culture places tremendous importance on physical image. It is difficult to avoid the trap of obsessing over personal appearance because enhanced photos of bodies and faces or surgically augmented shapes are strategically and consistently placed in our purview.
In this culture we attempt to equate personal value with a number; on a scale, on a clothing tag, a corporate ranking, or the number of digits to the left of the decimal in our bank account. In doing this, we exchange our intrinsic value for something of much less worth.
Is our personal value really quantitative? An exchange assigning worth to both sides of the equation?
No. In fact, I maintain that the number on the scale is merely a “gravity monitor” (measuring the amount of gravity required to hold us on the ground). A clothing tag is not indicative of one’s health, and the number of digits to the left of the decimal of one’s bank account cannot measure one’s intrinsic worth. None of these is designed to, nor capable of, giving or assessing true value.
The skewed concept of worth cheapens the perception of our personal value and cannot satisfy our desire to be valuable.
With unrealistic ideas of personal worth conversations become driven by thoughts magnifying perceived inadequacies. People bemoan these notions of personal physical atrocities hoping to alleviate their pain by hearing from their peers affirmations of their worth.
A person’s Legitimate Value is qualitative worth. Redemption.
Redemption. The exchange of something of equal or greater value for something else.
Redemption in everyday terms. When you have a coupon for an item, you clip it and head out to redeem it. If you stop at the bank and give a handful of coupons to the teller, he or she will tell you they cannot give you money for them. However, if you go to the grocery store and fill your basket with the items, the cashier will ring them up. The cashier will accept your coupons and take the discounted amounts off your total bill for the items for which you have coupons.
What makes the difference between the teller and the cashier? Authority. The teller did not have the authority to make the exchange, the grocery cashier did.
When we give our lives over to making a perfect appearance, no matter how perfected our looks become, we will never find life in that.
We must look to the LIVING to find our VALUE!
Jesus gave Himself as an offering of redemption for our souls. When we give our lives over to Jesus Christ, we will find fulfillment and LIFE.
True value comes from one source, the CREATOR of LIFE, CREATOR of US, GOD ALMIGHTY. Through JEHOVAH GOD, JESUS the CHRIST has the authority to make the exchange for ABUNDANT LIFE!
We are taught by the Psalmist in Psalm 139 that we are knitted together in our mother’s womb. That means there is a Life Force who creates every individual. That Life Force is God, the Creator, and John tells us Jesus was the Word of Creation and that God is the definition of love, for GOD IS LOVE!
From Genesis to Revelation the Bible shows us the magnificence of The One, True and Living God, the Creator of all life. We are the epitome of His creation.
Our VALUE is found in GOD alone.
Connected to GOD through JESUS CHRIST we find the reality of who we are.
Who we are is infinitely more valuable than how much we weigh, the size of our clothes, or the cash in our bank account.
Connect to CHRIST.
Find LIFE in HIM.
Know your VALUE.
#ValueSizedLIFE