Worth

Worth. When something has usefulness or importance, it has worth. Worth can be subjective; some people may see worth in something while others do not. Feeling worthless can be painful and make you not want to be friends with anyone. We all want to be worth something, and ultimately we want to be worth something to God.

Worth also helps us make decisions. Is this worth our time, money, or effort? Is this cause worth our support? How much is it worth? Would we give our lives for it, or just our money?

This concept of worth is vital in friendships, families, and relationships. Often friendships fall apart because one or the other doesn't think their friend is worth their time anymore. Marriages fall apart because someone finds their spouse to be worth less than someone else, and so they get a divorce. Families fall apart because one of the members decides that the rest of their family isn't worth as much. It may not seem like the reason all of the time, but it's one of the underlying causes.

Ultimately we have to make a decision: where does worth come from? Can I give you worth? Can your clothes? Sure, here on earth, it might seem that way. But true worth? That comes from God alone. God's love for people, His sacrifice to save them, and His gift of salvation, righteousness, and eternal life to them give them worth. (Not everyone has salvation, but we do not know who God has called to be saved, so to us their worth must be the same, or else why would we tell them about God?)

To God, they are worth everything, and so, too, to us they must be worth everything. Our friends, our family... they should be worth everything to us. It's this concept that I am striving to make a part of my life: that those around me are worth everything I have (and more).

It's especially important to me that I carry this into marriage. I've seen too many marriages fall apart, and too many nearing that fall, to let this simply pass me by. God has called husbands to love their wives as Jesus loved the church. Just as He was willing to lay everything on the line to make sure God's plan for the church was carried out, so too a husband should be willing to lay down everything to make sure God's plan for his wife is carried out.

Will I find things I don't like about my future wife? Yes. Will I get into arguments with her? Yes. Why? Because I'm human: I fail. But I won't give up. I will strive to view her as God does. I will try my best to always lay myself down for her benefit. And in the end, all of the fights, all of the pain, will be worth it if her soul is saved. I will lay down everything I have to give to make sure God's plan for her is carried out. Sure it'll be hard, but it'll be worth it.

Do you see the people in your life as having the same worth that God sees in them? When you do, it's much easier to do the things God has asked us to do.

Before I finish here, I thought I'd see what you guys would like to see posts about. I know most of the people who read this probably do so just to keep up with what's going on in my life, but if you want me to write up a post about something specific, let me know in the comments!

Godspeed,

- Jason