21 Jan Why Do I Feel Worthless When God Says I’m Valuable

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son so whom so believe on him shall not perish but have eternal life.  This is the most quoted scripture out of the Bible.  Jesus came and died so you can have eternal life.  When you die, you will go in to live with God, and not go on to live in hell for eternity. 

When most people hear this verse, I do not think it resonates.  Infact, a person can read this scripture, and not be moved at all in their emotions.  That’s because this scripture is Spiritual, it is not carnal.  I have never quoted this scripture to anyone who was not a Christian. 

This scripture doesn’t mean anything to the person who doesn’t know God. In fact, it can seem very dramatic and far fetch sounding.  Saying and quoting this to non-believers, though it be truth and factual, does little to nothing to move them to believe God is who he says he is, and will do what he says he will do.  We’ve all been giving, for lack of a better word, “lines” and one-liners on what someone will do for us. 

After a while we get wise, and start to look at what really matters, and that is results.  You can’t talk God into a person’s heart.  If that was the case, most people in the World would be saved.  We have some very charismatic and persuasive people who speak about God.  The Bible addresses this in the New Testament, Paul specifically in second Timothy 3:5.  “Having a form of Godliness, but lacking the power there in or denying the power.  From such people turn away“!

Charisma and persuasive talk, only succeed on the gullible and weak minded.  People infectiously seeking God, through wisdom and discernment given by the Holy Spirit, will recognize folly in those who practice such things.  To get drastically to the point, they will look at the lives these people lead and see if it matches what they preach and teach.  These people have a form of Godliness, that on the surface looks to be of substance, but once you dig a little deeper, you will see that there is no foundation of truthful living.

I always found it odd, that a person deliberately living a life contrary to the Gospel can do it without conviction.  People who love God, have a tendency to stay away from him when they are living a life that is not in line with the Gospel.  This is because when you know you are living a life that is not pleasing Jesus, it is easier to stay away from him, then  it is to be around him.  How can you face the one who gave his life for you, when you know you are not doing what the one who loved you commanded you to do?

How do you disappoint the one you say you love, and then look him in the eye, let alone have a conversation with him?  Our conscience would not allow us to commit such blatant acts of disrespect.  So we do what Adam and Eve did in the garden.  We go into “hiding” until Jesus comes looking for us.  This is the strength of Jesus.  He comes looking for the ones he loves.    He does not write them off and say “I have plenty of other sheep, you are on your own!”. 

But Men do this day in and day out.  Members of large Churches come and go, with no one seeking their whereabouts.  There are hundreds to thousands of other members I can tend to instead worrying about why this person or that person left.  I have too many other people in my church to care.  We look at Pastors generally as a reflection of the love Christ gives to the Church.  So if you’re looking at your Pastor as an example of that love, you will always find yourself disappointed. 

I have a confession to make, though I believe everything in the Bible to be true, I do not accept everything in the Bible for my life.  Not because I don’t want to.  It’s because what God is saying to me, I have never experienced.  No one on Earth would give their son’s life for mine.  It would never happen.  You can find a Parent who will willingly give their life for their child, but you will not find someone whom you had no relationship with, to give their child’s life for yours.  Their only child at that.

These words from John 3:16 are unfathomable, let along unimaginable.  Especially to a non-believer.  I still have a tremendously hard time wrapping my head around that scripture myself.  That alone should make me change my life drastically overnight to live out a perfect existence until my time is up here.  But it doesn’t.  It doesn’t kill my will or my personal drive of selfish things and dreams overnight either.

Those words are not enough for me.  Which truly speaks to the condition that we were in before Christ called us.  Those words fall on death ears to a non-believer.  Those words did not save me.  Those words did not bring me to Christ.  Christ called me.  He bought me to himself.  He was the charismatic and persuasive voice that convinced me through faith that he was the way, the light, and the truth. 

We will all come across things in the Bible that we find hard to accept.  For example, Jesus says we are valuable.  If you look in Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”, you can see the valuable God has placed on us.  Romans 5:8  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”, also demonstrates the value God has placed on us.  Peter 1:18-19 “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold … but with the precious blood of Christ”, demonstrates yet again the value God has placed on us. 

One thing I know, is when a person feels valuable, they live a life of principle and standards.  You cannot manipulate or trick a person who believes they are valuable, into doing things that lower their value, and that are beneath them.  If satan can convince you that you are not valuable, then he can convince you to do things that a person who believes they are valuable, would never do. 

Most of us don’t feel valuable, because those around us and who we interact with on a daily basis do not particularly treat us with value.  Those who follow Christ, are not particularly treated as being valuable.  You will certainly not find your value in the World if you’re following Jesus.  You may not find it in the Church you’re attending as well sadly.  Some of us, if not most of us, will only find our value from God’s word.

God does not value the things that the world values, so God does not seek out the things that the world places a high value on.  Satan is only interested in the things God is interested in.  Let me say it again, Satan is only interested in the things God is interested in.  If God has no interest in it, neither does he.  God’s children are persecuted because they are God’s children.  Not for that, we would be left to our own vices to do as we please.

When God commands us to renew our minds, it is a renewing of our value system as well as our morals and ethical beliefs.  He calls for us to forsake the things we value which came from what the world values.  The things the world values are all our carnal.  Beauty, money, power, influence, material things, aggression, being sexy, lasciviousness, greed, self-centeredness, audaciousness, backbiting, explicitness and many other things that are of a carnal nature.

When you do not fit within the mantra of these things, you will feel devalued.  You cannot walk with Jesus while seeking the approval of Men.  Do not be deceived.  You cannot follow Christ and also seek to have 300,000 followers on your IG Model account.  If you think I am exaggerating, then you need to go look for yourself if you choose.  There really are women who are scantily dressed who say they are following Jesus.  They have the love and admiration of the world and of Men, but somehow also have the love and admiration of God as well?

Paul says in the New Testament in second Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”.  If you believe you can have fellowship and admiration with the World as well as fellowship with Christ you are deceiving yourself.   Social media has become intertwined within the core fabric of our lives.  Our fingers do more scrolling and swiping on her smartphones then they do turning pages in our Bibles.

Social media is a great tool in which to deliver the Gospel, but it has become an even greater tool in delivering idolatry.  I believe Social Media to be more harmful than of benefit.  It is a glass illusion, that everyone is doing “well”.  But most of the population do not know God, so who is the liar??

I sought the affection and the approval of the World. I was born out of the world’s womb.  All the things it deemed valuable, are all the things I valued and sought after.  This kind of lust never dies, like the sexual lust that a Man or Woman has.  Our flesh has a need to feel important and to feel valuable.  Getting a bunch of likes on a photo I uploaded made me feel good.  It made me feel important. 

It made me feel valuable.

If a bunch of people liked my photo or liked my statement, it must mean my statement or my photo was of value.  And that relates to me.  I said it.  I’m in the photo.  So I must be valuable. There are millions of people who are valued by the World’s standards, who will never hear God’s calling because the World has them wrapped in a blanket of deceit. 

Do not point and judge these people.  It is not so long ago we were these people.  We should always pray for those first when we are tempted to judge.  The calling that we received, came at the cost of a perfect life.  The blood that was shed was innocent before God.  Perfect blood for an in-perfect people, does not seem like a fair bargain.

But God, deemed that it was still worth the trade.  What kind of thinking is this?  Where does this logic has its origins?  It is not logic.  It is love.  More specifically.  It is God’s love.  It does not reside in the realm of human logic.  Let’s begin to understand and admit, that we don’t and cannot understand God’s thinking.  It will make you feel better lol.  Let’s stop trying to understand him.

I know it’s hard.  We must understand.  We need to understand, so we can come to our own reasoning on if we should do what he says or not.  But if faith lines up with our reasoning, how can one call it faith?

I still value the words of others to an extent that I should not.  It is a flaw of mine.  I’m not proud of it.  But a person saying nice things about me makes we feel good.  When a woman calls me Handsome, it makes me smile.  If she flirts with me, it makes me smile bigger.  These things are not bad in and of itself.  A compliment is nice to give, and nice to receive.  But compliments when giving often can inflate a person’s sense of self-worth, self-being, and value in the way the world intended, which are ingredients in developing a prideful character.

Compliments can become like drugs, once you get a few, a few more hundred will due!  Do you know that there are many women who join dating sites not to find a date, but to find value in themselves?  They join just to get compliments from men to feel good about themselves. 

What do you do to feel good about yourself?  In the times when you don’t feel valuable, what do you do to feel valuable?  If you’re looking for that value outside of God you’re looking in the wrong place.  We’ve all been guilty of this.  Jesus wants to be the source of our value.

Because of what the Bible says in Gen 1:27.  Because of what the Bible says in Romans 5:8.  Because of what the Bible says in Peter 1:18-19.   Reading these Bible verses a few times will not make you feel better then the boost your ego will receive from 1000 people liking your photo.  Our flesh is corrupted and has an ongoing love affair with the World.  It’s the reason Israel always backslid away from God after years of faithful living. 

It’s the reason why God has commanded that we meditate on the word and pray every single day, to ward off the temptations that we face on a daily basis.  We won’t realize our value until we meditate on what the Bible has said about our value.  If the world is telling you everyday you’re not valuable because of what you believe following God, what are you fighting those lies with if it’s not the word of God?

Also, fighting is not enough, you must remove those things from your life that makes you feel less valuable.  Like perusing instagram and Facebook looking at the lives of others who are living the way you wish you were in your heart!  Yes I went there.

God already knows what the desires are that you don’t speak about.  You say you desire one thing with your mouth, all the while you lust for something else in your heart.  If God gave you what your mouth desired, then the scripture saying God will give you the desires of your heart could not stand true!  God does not give you the desires of your mouth.   He gives you the desires of your heart.  If the desires of your heart are the desires of the world, he will not fulfill it. 

If God has not fulfilled the desires of your heart, it could be because your heart has not changed to reflect the things that he deem to be valuable.  God will not bless you with the things that will ruin you.  So our values must line up with his in order for him to fulfill it.  Spending time in God’s word is the only way you will feel valuable.  God’s value on you does not change because you got old.  Does not change because your appearance did.  It does change because your salary or your zip code changed.

I am not speaking easy words.  I too find myself questioning my value at times.  Sometimes I feel valuable.  Other times not so much.  We are all broken, and constantly working to accept our flaws.  I pray that you come to the place where you are extremely comfortable with yours, as I hope and strive to be one day with mine.  We are all valued in the Kingdom of God by what we do.  Be a doer of good things.  Not just a hearer of those who do good things. 

Do not grow tired of doing good things.  It’s a worthy reason to stretch ourselves at times.  When I was in the World I would run a marathon and back to do the things that were good to my flesh.  So I should have the same endurance to do the things that are pleasurable in the Spirit. 

Pray.  Study.  Be a doer of good things.  This is where you find your value in Christ.  It is what we are called for.  If you are not fulfilling your call in Jesus, you will never feel valuable.  You’ll feel frustrated.  Bitter.  Angry.  Depressed.  Jealous.  Envious, and forgotten.  Find your calling in Jesus.  We all have one.  That’s where you will find your value…