Value

Value In Christianity, our value doesn’t come from people, possessions, income, where we were born, or our health condition. Our value comes directly from God himself. And God has a vested interest in us. Right at the beginning, in Genesis 1: 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”] Here we have the foundation and basis for the Christian message.

God has blessed both Male and Female bearing his image. God put great value on what He has created.

Formed Us with Value

Before speaking about what a person can do, achieve, own, or become, we must understand who formed us.

Psalm 139:13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. ¹⁵My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. ¹⁶Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

What is David trying to put across to us [These verses show that God knows and sees us from the very beginning of life. He forms us in the womb, sees us even before we are fully developed, and knows the days of our lives.

We were skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. This is the picture of something being carefully and intricately formed. Because God formed us, we are of great value ● Your value does not begin when you become or feel useful. ● Your value does not begin when you achieve something. ● Your value does not begin when you become successful. ● Your value is there because God knows you and created you for a purpose.

This is why we don’t get our value system from the world which is fickle, you have to have a certain look, or be a certain height or drive a certain car or be a certain world to feel valuable to be somebody or someone. God has already made you valuable and He goes to great lengths to help you understand how He sees you. 1 Sam 16.7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.

The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”For man looks at the outside appearance but God looks at the heart. Jesus Remind Us Himself Matthew 6.25 Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.

Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

26Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they?

27Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

Are You Not of More Value?

All of creation is breathtaking. The heavens, the earth, the animals, the birds, the oceans and everything God has made are truly mind-blowing. Yet God says of us: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Notice that Jesus ends with a question mark. “Are you not of more value than they?” Jesus is asking us to recognise how much we are worth in the eyes of our heavenly Father.

Do We Really Believe We Are of Great Value?

God knows your value because He saw you and knew you before and while you were being formed. He knows your created value. He knows what you were made for and what He has called you to accomplish. From the beginning, God gave us purpose: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”] We are created male and female to be stewards of God’s creation.

We have been given responsibility, purpose and authority. When we understand our value, we can also begin to treat others according to their value. Low Value Having a low view of ourselves can be detrimental to our lives, and it is the opposite of what God wants for us. We may have low expectations for our lives, but the Lord has a higher purpose for us.

This does not mean the world’s idea of success: more wealth, higher status, a bigger house or better cars. God’s purpose is much greater: to fulfil the good works He has prepared for us to walk in. It is a life in God, with God and led by God.

Low Expectations

If you view yourself as having little value, you can begin to produce the fruit of that belief system. If nobody around you has achieved much, you may begin to believe, “That’s just how our family is,” or “That’s all I can expect from my life.” But we are not defined by our parents, our circumstances, our past or the limitations that others have placed upon us.

There comes a time when we have to be honest with ourselves and begin to understand where the Lord has placed us and what He has placed within us. We need to remove the limitations created by a low view of our value. It is like looking at yourself as an old, rusty car, just about making it from A to B, always breaking down and never expecting anything more.

Or you can begin to see yourself as a new vehicle on a new road, discovering what lies ahead, moving forward with excitement and purpose because you know your value and have a purpose. When you know your value in God, you begin to live differently.

So How Do We Get There?

We are told this in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

We have to believe the following

1. Believe that we are a new creation Old things have passed away. This means that where sin once had power over us and separated us from God, we may have inherited a low view of ourselves, living in self-condemnation. But Christ has restored us and brought us back into our rightful position as children of God.

We are not nobodies going nowhere. We are children of God, with a purpose and destined to do good things for God. 2. Believe that I am fearfully and wonderfully made “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139:14] Everything hinges on what you believe about yourself.

Choose life, that you may live. The good Lord has chosen you. Believe it, receive it and live it. 3. Build your value system on God’s truth, not your feelings Your value system must not be built on the sand of feelings, emotions and the storms of life that can sometimes bash you from side to side.

As mentioned before, if a king falls into the mud and gets up again, he is still a king. The mud does not change who he is. In the same way, circumstances do not change your value. Failure does not change your value. Difficult seasons do not change your value. Your value is established by how God sees you, not by how you feel about yourself or what circumstances may say about you.