Wednesday, October 31, 2012

What Are You Worth?

I remember hearing a story like this when I was a little girl:

A young boy was feeling badly about himself. He didn't make the cut for the baseball team, the girl he liked had a crush on someone else, and his project didn't get selected for the science fair. He told his dad he felt worthless.
The boy's father got big eyes and said, "I sure could use an extra hand at work! If I give you a million dollars, will you cut off your hand and give it to me?"
Shocked at his dad's suggestion the boy replied, "No way! I'm not going to cut my hand off for any amount of money!"
With a satisfied look on his face the father commented, "See? You aren't worthless after all. Your hand is worth more than a million bucks, and that's just a small part of who you are!"
Seems to me I thought the story was a bit ridiculous, but I understood it's point. The boy's worth couldn't be derived from his accomplishments or popularity. He had worth simply because he existed.

It's been quite a while since I originally heard that anecdote, but I found myself needing to remember it the other day.
I was feeling badly about myself. I got an email which hurt my feelings. Something someone said made me think they didn't like me. And it looked like a speaking engagement to which I'd been looking forward wasn't going to work out. Found myself paying attention to negative thinking and it was definitely affecting my outlook. I was feeling worthless.
Fortunately, before I got lost in a pit of depression God reminded me from where my worth comes. It isn't derived from my accomplishments or popularity. My worth comes from Jesus.
I practiced telling myself the Truth, and began singing. (Because singing is very effective therapy for me. *grin*)
Even though I wasn't immediately swept into a feeling of euphoria, I remembered my worth. The Creator of the universe loves me so much He sent His Son to earth to pay the price for my sins (and yours!) so I (we) could be reconciled to Himself. I matter to God - not because of anything I've done, or can do - but because He loves me. Period.

And that Truth right there? Is powerful enough to pull me through those moments when depression starts to rear its ugly head.
How about you? Whether or not you struggle with depression issues, when you're feeling down how do you handle it? What are you worth?

Karen

3 comments:

Leah Adams said...

Oh how often I/we need reminded of our worth...outside of this world. We were worth the life of Christ.

This is a wonderful post!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Karen for this wonderful reminder of where our true self worth comes from---Jesus! Beautifully said. Sorry to hear you had a tough day the other day. I had a similar issue just yesterday, where I felt sad and rejected. But I told myself God's truths--God is always with me and God's plan is better than mine. I'm going to try to email you soon...hugs***chera

Karen Hossink said...

Leah - Sometimes things which seem too good to be true...Aren't! :)

Chera - God's Truth gives me hope - even in the midst of my brokenness. *thankful*