How would you calculate what you’re worth?
It’s not something that we normally need to work out, except if we’re organising insurance or preparing a will, or maybe answering questions from Centrelink.
But assuming you calculated a dollar figure for all your assets, then would this provide the real answer to the question, “what is your worth?”
Our materialistic world naturally looks to the things we own as a measure of our worth.
Yet these possessions have no, ultimate, eternal value.
But even in this life, our possessions don’t really contribute to our value, nor our pleasure.
In the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes, we read this wisdom about life and wealth:
“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income… And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?” (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11)
If we find our value in our possessions, then we’re never going to be truly happy.
The words of a modern hymn summarise this perfectly:
My worth is not in what I own
Not in the strength of flesh and bone
But in the costly wounds of love at the cross
My worth is not in skill or name
In win or lose in pride or shame
But in the blood of Christ that flowed at the cross
Our true value in life can only be measured by how God views us.
This is all that ultimately matters.
And so, if you trust in Jesus, not in your possessions, you can join us as we sing the chorus of his song:
I rejoice in my Redeemer
Greatest treasure
Wellspring of my soul
I will trust in Him no other
My soul is satisfied in Him alone
(‘My worth is not in what I own’, Kendrick & Getty)
Jodie McNeill