Written by the 2016-2017 Worship Class:
There are times in our lives when we feel discouraged, hurt, and even filled with doubt on how God views us. We feel that we aren’t worthy of his love. In these times, we just have to remember that God made us in his image and we shouldn't look down on ourselves. God made you the way He wanted you to be.
Now, take a look at how Shawn Johnson, an Olympic Gymnast shares her story of the way she found her self-worth in her success as a gymnast, but realizes that's not where her worth comes from. Notice how Shawn Johnson said when she got the gold medal it didn't even matter. As you can see that putting your self-worth in earthly things can lead to dark hurt and depression.
Now take a look at these Olympians who found their self-worth in what really matters, God:
Therefore, we can conclude that our worth is not really of the “Self” at all; rather it is worth given to us by God. We are of great value to Him because of the price that He paid to make us worthy through the death of his son Jesus Christ.
As you saw in the video, neither of the divers said that they found their self-worth in how well they did on each dive, but rather that they found their self-worth in God. To them it wouldn’t have mattered if they received gold, silver, bronze, or even no metal at all. Their worth wasn’t found in metals, it was found in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for them.
Psalms139:13-15 says, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth."
The dictionary defines self-worth as the sense of one's own value or worth as a person; self-esteem; and self-respect. Our measurement of self-worth cannot be measured with a measuring stick. In other words self-worth is about what God can do with us and not what we can do with our own strength.
As teenagers, we worry about what others think of us. Sometimes we base our decisions on what our friends want. We tend to compare ourselves to those around us. We don’t always do this on purpose, but because we want other's approval, we try and make them happy instead of what God would want for us.
God sent his son Jesus Christ to die for us. He is the One who we should be putting our self-worth in. He is the One who matters. These physical objects on earth mean nothing when we have a God who loves and cares for us, who finds our self-worth more important than anything else.
Romans 12:3 says, "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."
God knows our self-worth. We should find our identity and self-worth through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
