God Says You Are Valuable
by Rick Warren
“You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears” (1 Corinthians 7:23 LB).
God says not only are you accepted, you’re valuable.
How much do you think you’re worth? I’m not talking about your net worth; I’m talking about your self worth. Don’t ever confuse your valuables with your value as a person. You can be rich or poor but it has nothing to do with your value as a person.
What determines value? There are two things that determine value in life:
1. It depends on what someone is willing to pay for it. How much is your house worth? Not as much as you think it is, and probably not as much as it was a year ago. Your house is worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. No more.
How much is a baseball card worth? To some of you, it’s worth nothing. To Matthew, my son, it’s worth a lot of money. Some people are willing to pay $10,000 for a baseball card.
How much is a piece of art worth? Whatever someone is willing to pay for it.
2. It depends on who owned it in the past. Sometimes something is valuable because of who used to own it. For example, would a car owned by Elvis Presley be more valuable than a car you owned? Probably. Or, would a guitar be more valuable because it was owned by John Lennon? I read about a pair of stinky, smelly, worn out basketball shoes that sold for $7,000 at an auction because they happened to be owned by someone named Michael Jordan.
Based on these two things, what’s your value? Ask yourself, “Who owns me?” “What was paid for me?” The Bible says, “You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears” (1 Corinthians 7:23 LB).
You have been bought and paid for by Christ. You belong to Jesus. How much does that make you worth?
Now ask yourself, “Who do I belong to?” The Bible says you belong to God. God exchanged his own Son for you! The cross proves your value. Jesus didn’t die for junk. You are incredibly valuable. Nobody has ever paid a greater price than God paid for you. You are acceptable and you are valuable!
