Why is it necessary to have self-worth? It’s necessary because the way you view yourself directly affects how you expect others to treat you, and it affects every decision you make about how you live your life. If you don’t believe that you deserve to be treated well, you will allow others to mistreat you. If you don’t value yourself, you won’t take care of your body and soul. If you don’t believe that you have talents, you won’t take risks and use the gifts God has given you.

What you think about yourself doesn’t change your value. If someone throws a valuable piece of art in the trash, it doesn’t make it any less valuable; however, it does treat that art in a way that it doesn’t deserve, and it wastes its potential.  God placed a high value on each of us by sending his Son to die for us. Regardless of what you believe about yourself, you have a huge value to God. If you live your life in a way that denies that value, you are missing out on what God wants for you.

Many of us believe our worth is tied to what we do. We falsely believe that the more perfect we are, the more God will love us. We also falsely believe that we have to earn God’s love and approval. The truth is that we are all sinners in need of grace. Perfection  isn’t possible. We can only strive to do what is right with the best of our ability. Our value doesn’t come from what we do or how perfect we are; it comes from God’s valuation of us, independent of our actions. We can’t change it and we can’t earn it. We can only accept the gift of self-worth that God has offered each of us and live our lives in a way that reflects it.

When we value ourselves, we will expect respect in all our relationships. We will care for our bodies and souls. We will utilize our talents. And we will live in a way that substantiates the price God paid for us.

By Karla Downing

Relationship Devotional Prayer

 
God,

Help me value myself the same way you value me.

Relationship Devotional Challenge

• Meditate on how much God values you.
• Identify one action you can take to value yourself more. (It can be in how you live your life, treat your body, or allow yourself to be treated by others.)

Scripture Meditation

 
1 Corinthians 6:20

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (NIV).

Romans 5:6-10

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (NKJV).

Christ died for us when we were sinners. If he was willing to do that for us when we were sinners, we are definitely saved from his wrath as his children and can rest in our relationship with him covered by his love and grace.