In a world that likes to assign a person’s value based on skin color, sexual orientation, political affiliation, disability, stage of gestation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status, it is easy to lose sight of what really gives a human being value. Do we assign it to ourselves or should other people assign it? Does our occupation or education define our value? How about what neighborhood I live in or which car I drive? Is it my skin color or gender identity that gives me value? There are many items we could list here, but all of them have a fatal flaw.
I would like to propose that nothing actually defines its own value. A car cannot. A goldfish cannot. And neither can a stove, a diamond ring, or anything else for that matter. All of these things can have value, but they do not define it themselves. Value is determined by the creator of an item and the price someone else is willing to pay for that item. Since the car didn’t create itself and cannot buy itself, it can’t define its own value. Value must come from an outside source.
This concept explains why humans cannot realistically define their own value in terms of the characteristics I listed at the beginning of this article. This would be a case of something defining its own value, i.e. a human choosing the value of itself or another human. The basic criteria for being able to assign value is not met in this case. Humans didn’t create themselves (origin theory) and they cannot purchase themselves.
This is good news! It means that no human (including you) can take away your value either. Characteristics like skin color and gender identity become invalid ways of assigning value. Anyone trying to manipulate another human based on such things has no standing. We can take comfort in knowing that we don’t have to place any credibility on what another human thinks our value is! In what, then, do we find our value?
Lets go back to the the definition of value. Value requires a creator and a buyer. I am sure you have already guessed what I am alluding to, but I am going to say it anyway. God created us and His son Jesus purchased us with His sacrifice on the cross. This means our value is defined by God’s Word (Gen 1:26-27, Psalm 139:13, John 10:10, Matthew 10:26-31, Romans 6:23, John 3:16-17). Let’s also consider the price Jesus paid for each of us. He willingly gave His life in the most torturous way possible to pay for you and I. Not only are we highly valued by the Creator, we were also bought at the highest price. Stop for a minute and really let that sink in. I’ll wait.
Leave No Doubt – Think. Love. Share.
Short Recap: Start defining your value according to who God says you are, not according to what other humans say you are You won’t regret it!
