We’re all worth $10

If I held up a ten dollar note and asked the question, “Who can tell me what this is, and how much is it worth?” You would answer, “It’s a ten dollar note, and it’s worth that because it comes from the Government printing press and has the Governor of the Reserve Bank’s signature on it.”

Now, if I threw the ten dollar note on the ground and stood on it, how much would it be worth? The answer, of course, is still ten dollars. 

How about I screwed it up in my hand? Or what if I dipped it into a bucket of cow manure? 

How about I spat on it?  Yep … all still ten dollars.

What if someone said it was only worth two dollars?

Or use your imagination, what if the Ten dollars could talk and it said, “I’m not even worth the paper I’m printed on.” 

You see, the note’s value comes from where it’s made and who’s signature is on it; not from what’s happened to it, or what it, or others, might think or say about it. How about you…what are you worth…what gives you your value?

What about when you have been stomped on or spat on? 

What about when you feel all screwed up … or you have screwed up?

Or when you have had something done to you and you feel like cr*p … (cow manure)?

How about when someone tells you you’re worthless?

Or when you tell yourself you’re worthless?

Our true value isn’t found in what others think of us, or in what we might think of ourselves. Having our worth in those places leaves us far too vulnerable to the ups and downs of people’s moods and emotions.

Like the ten dollar note, our value is found in where we come from and who’s signature we have on us. 

God reminds us we have all been created in His image, and that means our worth is secure. It also means we are all worth the same. No one is worth more and no one is worth less. 

We may, and should, express our unique personalities and abilities differently but our worth and significance is steadfast and unchangeable. 

Imagine a world where we lived out of the potential of our true value and encouraged others to live out of, and celebrate, their own potential. Imagine a world where we didn’t see one person as worth more than someone else and a world where we didn’t see someone as worth less than someone else.  A world where we didn’t celebrate arrogance or ignore brokenness. A world where we celebrated each other’s significance. A world where we understood we all matter… profoundly.

We all place our worth in something. Mistakenly, for many it’s in things like our wealth, our achievements, our looks, or the wounds from our past. It’s interesting to note that what we place our worth in influences us more than ‘any other single thing’.

Where have you placed your worth? And what effect is that having on you?