B- Book Values

Scriptures: “…Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8)

I have a mini-van which used to be driven by my son for 2 years when he was attending a local community college. Now that he is transferred to a University of California campus, this mini-van has been parked on my drive-way collecting dusts. Every once in a while I would check the car and drive it to work to make sure it’s in good condition.

One day, as my wife and I were on our drive-way, she saw the car and commented on the dusty look of the car and asked if we should sell it since we hardly use it. I thought about it and decided to check the blue book to see how much its worth is now. After specifying the make, year, and model, I discovered that this mini-van’s blue book value was only about a thousand dollars. “Should we see it?” I asked myself. I thought about the good condition of the engine. The seats are still very comfortable. It’s spacious enough to seat 7 and had been used to take family and church brothers and sisters to places. In some cases, it has been used to transport larger furniture items, too.

It seemed to me that, despite the declining value shown on the blue book, all the needs for this car are still there and this car is certainly capable of meeting these needs. So, should we sell it? Maybe, out there in the market, people would not want to pay more than what’s stated on the blue book for this car. But, here in my home, this car is a lot more valuable than that number.

This got me to think how we value things, or even ourselves. It seems to me that people nowadays assess the value of things based on the economic demand and supply rule. If the weather is bad or if the farmers suffered natural disasters like flood and frosty weather, the price of fruits and vegetables would go up. If the economy is doing well and a lot of people want to invest in real estate, the price of houses would rise. The values of these material possessions are determined by their circumstances.

But the application of this rule is not limited to the assessment of material things only. People have taken this rule and apply it to human beings, too. I can still remember what my friends used to tell me when they felt like they were being treated like a “doormat” in their humiliating experiences. They lost their dignities and felt that they were not worthy of anything at all.

Other than feeling sorry for them and with them, I began to wonder why people would feel like that and how God would see these humiliating experiences. Criticizing those who treat others unfairly and disrespectfully is one thing, but restoring the self-esteem and dignity of the victims is a totally different thing. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the problem came from their definition of their “worth.” If we allow the economic demand and supply rule to define our worth, then the inevitable conclusion of being pressed down and humiliated would be we are nothing. But, if we are not to apply this economic rule to how we define our worth, how should we define it? How would God define our worth?

As I thought about this question, I went back to bible and found that God has actually bestowed upon us 2 values: The first one is the intrinsic value which God gave us when He created us for He created us in His image. Our intrinsic value came from this divine image He created us in. That’s how valuable we are. Such value is built in and bolted down in us and is not something anyone else can take away. So, when someone hurts or humiliates us, we can feel the hurts and humiliation, but we should not feel like a doormat because this intrinsic value from God cannot be taken away from us by those people.

The second one is the instrumental value which God intends to realize in our lives. Bible is very clear that God has a purpose and a plan for each one of us through which His will is done and He is glorified. For this, He richly blesses us with gifts and opportunities in life to serve Him and all those in need of His love, mercy and grace. Our problem is we often do not know what God’s purpose and plan are for us. When we don’t know, we can easily feel useless and can become vulnerable when exposed to adverse circumstances. But, like the intrinsic value, this is also a God given value that no one can take away from us.

When we lose sight of these God given values, we become easy prey for adverse circumstances and our adversary, the Devil. God is keenly and painfully aware of our condition. That’s why He stepped down from His Throne and took on the Cross for us so we may be saved. His salvation not only saved us from the power of sin, saved us into His family as His children, but also allowed Him to restore us to the glorious image He bestowed upon each one of us for His glory!

So, whatever our circumstances may be, good or bad, let’s not forget that our values are not defined by blue books, but by the Word of God, the Bible. Let’s walk with our back straight and our heads up so people may see His image in us and let’s walk straight and stay on the path He called us to so His will can “…be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

Prayer Requests:
For those in sufferings, be it economically, relationally, or physically

Prayer:

Our Heavenly Father, as we go through lives and all that You have allowed to happen to us, we have come to the realization that, apart from You, there’s no hope and there’s no meaning in life. So, we come humbly before You to ask for the divine love, mercy and guidance we need to sustain and strengthen us so we may both understand and pursue the purpose and plan that give glory to You. Hear our prayer as we pray in the loving name of our Lord Jesus, Amen!