I Hope You Realize Your Worth

Recently I posted about humility, and I said that humility is not thinking too low about yourself. I decided to pontificate on that because it is something that I struggle with, and something that I think a lot of people can relate to.

My problem tends to be that I tell myself I'm never good enough. I have so many problems and I obsess over them, so I feel unworthy of anyone else's affection, as if other people know about my personal struggles and are judging me for them. My brain tells me that they aren't, but deep inside, I just know they are. No one else has told me that I'm not good enough or done anything to make me feel that way - I just have high standards of myself, and I fall short constantly. I feel like I have to prove myself on a daily basis: to myself, to everyone else, and to Jesus.

Let me be clear on one thing: no one is good enough on our own. God hates sin, and everyone has committed sin. God desires perfection, and our good deeds will never erase our sin. We are nothing without Christ. But with Christ, what hope we have! "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Corinthians 3:5). 

Well, I was listening to a radio sermon the other day that was talking about this very thing. The guy speaking - I don't know who it was - was talking about how Satan accuses people of their sins, over and over again. He holds it over their heads so they always think about it, and they tell themselves that their mistakes are all that defines them. This is one of Satan's most-used tricks. He lies to us and gets us to lie to ourselves.

"You'll never be good enough for anything."

"Everyone thinks you're worthless."

"You can't do this."

Peter and Jesus as portrayed by NBC's "AD: The Bible Continues"

The radio speaker was talking specifically about Peter, and how he always felt the need to prove himself to Jesus. He needed to be the best. "Oh, Lord, I will never deny you! Even though all of these others will deny you, I never will!" "I will defend my Lord and cut off this enemy's ear so that He will know that I am the most loyal!" "I'll get out of the boat first and rush to greet him!" You get the picture. Peter understood that to be a follower of Jesus, you should have that joy, that passion to serve Him. However, what Peter didn't get was that Jesus offers rest. Rest from all of those insecurities. Rest from all of the work of proving that you're better than your mistakes.

He knew about Peter's passion and his insecurities, and all of Peter's problems, and He loved him anyway. Even after Peter denied Jesus, Jesus took him back as a friend. Unlike all of the other people around me, Jesus does know about my personal struggles. And He loves me anyway.

That, more than anything else, is what I have the most trouble believing.

Romans 5:8 says, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." How could God still love me in the midst of all my problems and mistakes? Every day, when I say, "I'll do better tomorrow?", how could God still care enough about me to send his son to die?

Honestly, it's a mystery to me. But it's true. He does.

Ok, I hate answers like that myself and it pains me to have to put one of those "He just does!" on my blog. I like answers. I like them to be logical. But that's the thing about God: He's too big for any of us to understand. He's not always logical.

And get this: it doesn't matter. We don't have to understand that aspect of God. Because no matter how He does it, He does. As Skillet says in their song Imperfection, "You mean so much that heaven would touch the face of humankind for you." We were worth it to him, and we still are. And instead of falling into the devil's trap and making excuses about how we aren't worth it, we should be praising God that he saw fit to save us, and that he has given us a part in his grand plan for the world.

God made us to fulfill our part.

When He looks at you or me, He doesn't see someone who is constantly messing up. Because of our belief in Jesus, God sees someone who is trying.

As long as you are, of course. Trying, that is.

Peter made mistakes. He was human. He was fallible. But look where he ended up! People today are still talking about him! Even though he had his share of struggles, he was able to #1: get to know Jesus Christ firsthand, which in itself is incredible, and #2: become one of the most successful preachers in the days of the Early Church, and one of the boldest witnesses for the faith. Peter was the first one to preach on the day of Pentecost after the coming of the Holy Spirit, and he was the first one to proclaim Christ to a Gentile. Church tradition says (and I can't say this for fact, but) that Peter is even said to have dictated his discipleship with Jesus to John Mark, who wrote the book of Mark and was a companion of Peter's for many of the later years of his life. Even though Peter was eventually martyred, and I hope that God might not call us to give that ultimate sacrifice, the biblical evidence clearly points to the fact that those who are persecuted and suffer for their witness to Christ (up to and including death) are pleasing in God’s sight and will be honored. Though an arrogant, cocky "man of thunder", Peter was a willing, obedient servant of the Lord, even to death; and he was able to overcome his passion and replace it with a humility that led him to request that he be crucified upside down (historian Tertullian tells us) because he was unfit to be killed in the same way as our Lord.

When I think about Peter's life, it gives me hope. He overcame so much, but Jesus chose him when he was still flailing around in a fisherman's boat, not even trying to work on his flaws. And Jesus has chosen us to do his work as well.

That is an incredible thought to me.

God has made us good enough to accomplish whatever he has called us to. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). 

God has made us and that alone gives us worth. "For you formed my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well" (Psalm 139:13-14).  

God will give us strength to get through any situation. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13.


I know that these verses and the story of Peter encourages and strengthens me, and I hope they do the same for you. I hope you realize your worth in Christ Jesus.

Until next time, dear readers!

 

I Hope You Install Humility

I don't know about you, but sometimes I get frustrated with speakers when they preach on ambiguous ideas. Often, they will talk about what to do, but not how to do it. I find that they occasionally take for granted the fact that their audience knows the definition of basic "Sunday School" words. However, when knowledge of what a word means is lacking, the whole message can go up in smoke. One of these ambiguous ideas that I struggle with a lot is understanding the concept of humility. Pastors can base entire sermons on the verse Luke 14:11: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” That's a great verse, right? But how can you "humble yourself" if you aren't sure what the word means? If the word is even slightly misunderstood, the entire meaning of the sermon is, as well.   

What exactly is "humility"? Everyone seems to have a different idea. The word is understood as multiple ideas that have varying but significant differences. Some think that the word is an attribute of one who allows others to walk all over them, a "doormat". Some think that it means to think low of yourself, to put yourself in the lowest possible position. Some think it is simply seeing yourself for who you truly are. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "humility" is "the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humility), I believe that humility is a little bit of all of that, but I think it is more. True humility has many faces, and that is why it is so difficult to clearly define.

I think that Philippians 2: 3-11 defines it best: "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men..." Count others more significant than yourself. This means that humility is not only the way you see yourself, it is also (and perhaps more importantly) the way you view and treat others.

Jesus is the best example, of course, having given up his position as prince of heaven to come to this dirty place and follow his Father's plan to the end, knowing that all things work together for good for those who love Him (see I Hope You See Hope ). All truly great leaders have this virtue: humility, otherwise known as "leading by example". For some people it’s natural. Others need to consciously practice it. Either way, if this is an attribute that you have perfected or are working on, others will notice. They will be impressed. And they will want to follow your example.

In order to master this view of others, one must first master their own view of themselves. Simply stated, if you think of yourself as less than everyone else, humility will be an easy install into your day-to-day routine. If you tend to struggle with pride, thinking of yourself maybe more highly than you should, then this transition will be more difficult.

Focusing on serving is perhaps the best way to install humility. Letting someone ahead of you in line when you see they are in a hurry is an act of humility. Cleaning the bathroom of your office, even though you own the company, is an example of humility. The star of the basketball team could score a tremendous amount of baskets in any given game, but instead he takes lots of opportunities to pass the ball to his teammates so they can try to score as well. He is showing humility.

• Anne Hathaway turned in a strong performance in Les Miserables. In the movie, she sings a song called “I Dreamed A Dream.” This song is beautiful and is often sung to showcase a singer’s vocal talents. Rather than belt out the song in a way that would show how beautiful her voice is, Anne chose to sing it in as realistic a way as possible, which meant her voice did not sound as beautiful as it could. Singing it this way brought more believability to her character, even though it did not sound as beautiful as it could have.
• Even though Kate Middleton married into British royalty, she still likes to do her own grocery shopping and cooking.
• During a recent cross-country race in North Dakota, a runner carried an injured competitor across the finish line. Danielle LaNoue injured her patella only a few feet from the finish. Melanie Bailey encountered the fallen runner and stopped, though others ran past. Though she gave up her chance of winning the race, she helped the stranger across the finish line, and the two finished together. Now, they have become friends and constantly exchange Facebook messages.

When I read the stories of these people, I was, quite honestly, amazed. Anne Hathaway has a beautiful voice and yet she chose to show emotion over talent. Kate Middleton is a princess, for goodness sakes! If I was a princess, I think I'd probably have people do my shopping and cooking. So I could do more writing, of course.

I wish I was a princess.

Anyway, I was most impressed with the story of Danielle and Melanie. I'm sure that Melanie isn't the first runner to help a hurt competitor, and I'm sure that she won't be the last. But those stories always get me because they're real. They are real people - in this case, teenagers - defying the norm and going outside of their comfort zone to help others. I love that. I am inspired by these stories, especially when the people involved are young people. They don't fit the mold of the rebellious teen, the wild and careless. They care, and they show it. And they are a great example to follow if humility is something you struggle with.

Sometimes caring for others is not difficult. I like to babysit my cousins. They are fun to be around and I like to help my aunts out once in a while. I like to cook dinner for my family. These are times when caring comes easy. But what about the stranger, the homeless man you pass every day on your way to work? Maybe he makes you uncomfortable. Maybe you don't think he is safe. Still, buying him lunch, sitting and eating it with him would be an example of humility on your part. You can give up your pride and still be able to retain your dignity. Sometimes it's hard. But it's always the right choice.

C.S. Lewis put it this way: "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less."  

So I hope you install humility into your daily routine. I hope you make it a habit. And I hope that you can use it as a tool to change the world around you.

 

Blessings until next time!