Worth.

The longer I am engaged in anti human trafficking work, and the longer I follow Jesus, the more I realize so much of how we show up in the world, how we react to each other, what we choose to say and do is rooted in where we are finding our identity. Where I look for worth and purpose sets a direction for how I interact with myself, those around me and God. 

A few weeks ago Chris and I took a short road trip to Wisconsin to see our friends over at Fierce Freedom. Fierce Freedom is an anti human trafficking organization spreading awareness and equipping the community in the Chippewa Valley to take a stand against human trafficking. Chris and I were there to preview the new human trafficking awareness curriculum they have created for high school and middle school. They are bringing human trafficking awareness through the lens of worth and identity to high school and middle school students in Wisconsin. We loved their presentation, it so resonates with Chris and my heart and with the work being done at Stories Foundation.

It is overwhelming for me to try and understand the immense value each one of us has to our Creator God. That when he looks at me, he alone sees all of my faults along with all of my potential and still calls me by name. He still pursues you and I for relationship with him, still wants us to partner with him in his work so we can see him more clearly, know him better, and still wants to right the wrongs in our lives as an act of redemption and restoration. All of this screams so loudly of his love for me and you, and the value we therefore have because he alone has the right to cancel us and he doesn’t.

If I were to boil down my “why” or the reason behind why I continue to commit so much of my time, energy and abilities to anti human trafficking work it might be because I believe so deeply in the value and worth of human beings, and that belief comes from God and how deeply he values human beings. 

Many years ago Chris and I decided to write our own curriculum for the 5th and 6th grade ministry we were in charge of. That curriculum has evolved over the years and in the last few years Chris has added to it and gave it a name; Worth. The way Chris describes the curriculum is it is taking a look at the Bible as a God’s whole story and seeing in it’s pages who God is and how much he values us, his creation. Out of that realization the question the listener is invited to ask themselves is, in light of the worth you have in God’s eyes, what is God worth to you? Will you choose to engage with him in relationship and follow him in obedience?

There are a million different things we could find our identity in, the top of my list is other people’s opinions. I am sensitive to people, if they feel valued in a space where they are in, if they are being left out, if they are disappointed or hurt or happy or sad, the list goes on and on. This can be a good thing and I am often grateful for the insight I have for others. Where this becomes hurtful to me and others is when I choose to find my own value and worth through what they think, or don’t think, of me. When I am looking to people for my value, insecurity and anxiety fester and grow. 

Acting out of insecurity and anxiety steals peace from heart and mind. When I start to wonder what a person will think in a certain situation and that wondering turns to obsessing I know I have let my eyes slip from the worth I have in my Creator God. Acting out of insecurity not only harms us but it also harms our relationships. If I am looking to people for my worth and value I am putting a lot of undue pressure on others to affirm me. Or, I am walking around continuously feeling the need to either overplay or underplay my achievements because I am a bottomless pit when it comes to needing recognition. If I have been living in a place where my identity is found in how others see and treat me, I might take their negativity and judgements on myself and from there I might also act in negativity or judgement towards others. 

It is human to want to be appreciated, to want to be seen and valued. It is dangerous when we depend on others, our successes, our finances, our image etc. to validate our existence. The validation you and I so desperately crave is the one that comes from God. Thankfully, He is giving it freely, if we would stop and rest in Him, we would know it.

This could bring up the question of if we even need to be encouraging and affirming of each other.  I believe yes, we do. You and I are the physical presence of God here on earth, we are often his voice of encouragement and affirmation of those we encounter. We are the image of his values and we are conduits of his rightness. Walking around and not choosing to value those around us is not reflecting God and his values well in our world.

What we have to be careful of is valuing people for the wrong things. Valuing them for what they do for us or for the world instead of who they are. Valuing them for outward things like how good they are at someone or how consistent or how capable. It is good to acknowledge people’s strengths, I like for people to encourage me in the good I create for this world, but more than that I want to know that if I show up without anything to give, will you still love, value, see and care for me anyways? 

Am I worthy if I come empty handed, am I worthy if I come as just me, am I worthy if I come having made mistakes?

When I look to Jesus I hear him whisper, “yes” sweetly in my ear. I am worthy because he created me in his image. I am worthy and he showed me when he defeated death so the wrong things in my life could be made right and I could have true life. 

Do I hope to get better all the time? Yes I do, and I don’t want to get better to earn a better place in this world or with God. My place is secure, I want to get better because I want to be more like Jesus, I want to get better because I want to be able to love you better. 

You are worthy too, just as you are. Nothing you can do or have done changes your worth and value. When we follow Jesus, will he change us to be more like him? Yes, but this has nothing to do with our innate worth. We allow Jesus to change us so we can more beautifully speak of his great love for us, more beautifully express how he has brought us out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

What if the first thing we valued in the people around us was their unique worth as a human being in this world. What if we allowed ourselves to rest in worth and value apart from how we perform? What would this do for our lives and how we live our lives in this world? How would this impact those we encounter?

Every human being has a longing to be seen, known, loved and valued. And they are in the eyes of Jesus, if you are a Jesus Follower will you join with me and commit to being his presence and sharing his value of valuing others? But before we do that, let’s sit and allow him to remind us of how precious we are to him, just as we are.