Understanding Your Value

In Sunday School I held up a $20 bill. Like clockwork one of the students yelled out, “Can I have that?” I then crumbled it up and asked, “Do you still want it?” He looked at me as if I were crazy and said, “Yes!” I threw it on the floor, stomped on it and jumped on it. Do you think he still wanted it? Of course he did. I put it under my arm and held it there. He still wanted it. I asked, “What if I make tears in it?” He said, “I’d still take it because it’s still worth $20.” I then told the group how some of them had been through some tough times. They’ve been stomped on, crumpled up and put through some dark times. The temptation is to look in the mirror and talk bad about yourself as if your value has diminished. I reminded them that they’re made in the image of God, and so are other people. Nothing they do, or that’s been done to them, could change their value.

In John 8, Jesus was teaching in the Temple when a group of religious experts brought Him a woman. They said she had been caught in the act of adultery and that the law said she should be stoned to death. With rocks in their hands, they asked Jesus, “What do you say?” The Lord looked at His creation in love, seeing her value hadn’t changed. He then began drawing in the dirt as He did when He formed Adam and Eve. They insisted that He answer. They had already devalued her. Jesus simply said, “Let he who is without sin throw the first stone.” On that moment, I believe that saw that their sin and past hadn’t affected their value either. They dropped the stones and walked away. The woman stood there and Jesus asked her where were the ones who condemned her. He then told her He didn’t either and that she should go and sin no more.

In Genesis 1:27 it says, “So God created man and woman and shaped them with his image inside them. In his own beautiful image, he created his masterpiece. Yes, male and female he created them” (TPT). When you grasp that you are made in God’s image, it will be difficult to devalue yourself. When you hear the voices in your mind saying you’re not good enough, your past disqualifies you, you’re too far gone or that you’re worthless, I want you to read this verse and tell them to shut up. Remind yourself that your value isn’t based on what you’ve done or been through. Your value can’t be changed because you are made in God’s image. You are a priceless masterpiece that He created. It’s time to drop the rocks of phrases you allow on repeat in your mind. Keep reminding them you’re made in God’s image until they all disappear. You are covered in the righteousness of Jesus and He doesn’t condemn you for what’s been forgiven and forgotten.

Photo by Erriko Boccia on Unsplash