Lesson 37. My Self-Worth

Our world is one great hospital in which you and I live. Sick people surround us, and we are no exception. Illnesses are of different kinds. They are divided into physical, spiritual, and emotional illnesses. There is also a dangerous virus called “sin” which, upon entering a person, begins to destroy the body, soul, personality, reason, and intellect. Outwardly a person may look wonderful, while the inner world is seized by trembling, fear, and anxiety, and there is no peace in the soul.

Depression has become one of the world’s leading illnesses, and when scientists see this diagnosis, they themselves grow discouraged by their inability to help the patient. They invent chemical remedies to suppress the symptoms of the illness.

In such a situation, people are taught to evaluate themselves properly. There are even concepts such as “low and high self-esteem.” Training sessions are held in which psychologists teach their secrets to help a person raise their self-esteem and emerge independently from discouragement and anguish. And perhaps looking at oneself and one’s problems from another perspective can help.

But this evaluation of oneself has one significant weakness: I think about myself on the basis of my own worldview, relying upon my personal perception of reality.

It is no secret that the same situation can be viewed and responded to in different ways. One person may see a problem in it, another an opportunity, and another may see nothing at all. Such a worldview can be manipulated very easily. Advertising companies, television programs, and various media create for us an image of what we should pursue and what we truly need. One can very easily enter a dead end in an open place without understanding one’s true value.

To understand the true value of every person and my own real worth, I believe we should turn to the original Source—to the One Who created humanity—and learn personally from Him what He thinks and says about this matter. The answer comes from the opening pages of the Bible.

I am not an accidental product of evolution, but a carefully conceived creation of God. When God designed the human being, He fashioned a masterpiece in miniature—a masterpiece that reveals the beauty and depth of His character and, through its perception, reflects the image of the Creator.

Every cell of my body was carefully designed by the Heavenly Designers. The entire organism was arranged so that it knew by itself what to do and how to function. My will, reason, and intellect possessed the ability to think, make decisions, consider, and analyze. I was given the gift of speech so that I could communicate with my Creator and with beings like myself. Within me was placed the ability to produce people like myself.

And in addition to all this, I can express my feelings and love.

How did it happen? God took the dust of the ground and with His own hands fashioned from it the likeness of a human being who resembled Him. Then He breathed His own breath into this lifeless form. The spirit transformed it into a living soul in which both the masculine and feminine principles were placed. This testifies that these principles are inherent in God.

How did the first man evaluate himself? I think he did not consider this question but simply rejoiced that he existed. When, by observing the animal world, he understood that he was alone and that it would be good to have a person equal to himself, God created from Adam’s rib a masterpiece and the highest invention of His creative work—a woman. She was a being completely opposite to man, yet highly gifted, emotional, intuitive, and joyful.

I imagine Adam’s astonishment and delight when he awoke and saw the woman who had been created from him and for him. She was not a robot, but a free person capable of making decisions independently, choosing, and arranging her own life.

They became acquainted, chose one another, decided to form a family, and married. God blessed this marriage and sanctified it.

And we are the direct descendants of these first parents, who were created in the image of God.

The enemy of souls led the first people into disobedience, and humanity became sinful. According to justice and law, they should have died. But God did not leave humanity in this condition. He decided to redeem people from the power of death by making a payment that would satisfy the demands of the law. God chose to give the life of His Only Begotten Son as a ransom for sin, thereby saving humanity from the power of lawlessness and death, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have Eternal life. What a tremendous price! How highly God valued every person! My true worth is equal to the shed Blood of Jesus. My personal self-evaluation cannot correspond to the true price paid for me. God desires that I understand this correctly and always remember it. God’s task now is to bring me to an awareness of my true worth so that I may build my life upon this understanding. Jesus loves me, and His sacrifice for my sin proves this love, opening before me limitless opportunities for development and spiritual growth.

In order not to limit my capacity for growth, God offers me Himself within me, calling this by a word I can understand—Agape Love. While endowing me with qualities of His Divinity, He leaves me an ordinary human being who has an extraordinary relationship with Heaven.

How do you think I should evaluate myself in such a position? My self-worth is founded upon God’s personal evaluation of me in the light of the sacrifice offered, the shed Blood of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit, Who transforms my mind and character into the likeness of God.

If I am to evaluate myself at all, it must be solely according to this Divine criterion and perspective.

I cannot forbid others to express their self-evaluation, lowering or raising it, but I can base my own only upon God’s opinion of me—and His opinion is very high and remains consistently unchanging.

Love very quickly enables me to understand my true worth. It is not ashamed of my appearance or my status in society. It is not troubled by my former life and my sins. Love has a purpose—to reveal and restore the image of God within me. Love confidently accomplishes this task.

Love demonstrates itself to people and gives itself to them, while before God it reveals my righteousness and holiness—never the reverse.

Where love is, there God is also.

And how do you, my friends, evaluate what God has already valued so highly?

1. In the light of this lesson, please read Isaiah 13:12; 43:4; and John 10:14–16.

2. What did you understand from this lesson?

3. How does God value you in the light of the verses above?

4. Please explain how you evaluate your life and yourself personally.

5. Read Proverbs 31:10. Do you agree with this evaluation? How great is it? Does it apply to you?

6. Is it important to evaluate yourself in the light of God’s sacrifice?

7. How highly does Jesus value you?