Shepherd's Lighthouse Church

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matt 6:19-21

For all that is in the world-- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-- is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. I Jn 2:16-17

In his essay “Walden,” author Henry David Thoreau observes that, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

He believed that the reason for this is that most of us are slaves to our work and enslaved to those for whom we work.

There might be some truth to his theory – but I believe that the root of the matter is to be found in the misdirection of a basic human drive – the need for meaning or value.

The English word for “value” is “esteem” and it means, an estimate of value based on opinion or judgment.  In the Greek it is “timeeos.”

The natural man seeks approval and value from outside – that is from the opinions and judgement of others who look at such things as career, skills, accomplishments, physical appearance, etc.

All too often we identify with the opinions of those around us and we find ourselves becoming what others think of us – this can lead to pride as one extreme or to self-abasement as the other extreme.

But even putting aside those extremes, allowing ourselves to be defined by our fellow human beings can lead to a false sense of worth.

Self-worth is probably at an all-time low with people looking for meaning and value in all the wrong places.

Insecurity has reached epidemic proportions and the search for self-esteem seems to

dominate our culture.

The human solution to the esteem problem is phyco-babbel and sensitivity training.

But it is in Christ alone that man will find true self-worth.

Many years ago I listened to a motivational speaker named Zig Ziglar who spoke of a Hawiian legend that I think illustrates the way the illusion of self-value based on physical appearance, accomplisments, or any of the many superficial criteria that affect our self image.

The Ten Cow Wife

Long ago in Hawaii, the price for a father to give his daughter as a bride was measured in cows. There was a father who had two daughters - the younger one was beautiful; the older one was plain.

Now, the normal price for an exceptional wife was 3 cows and for an average wife it was 2 cows.  It was said that the highest price that had been paid was 5 cows.

The Story goes that the richest man on the island was coming to ask for the hand of one of the daughters.  The father was sure that it would be the younger of the two and was sure  that he would receive the customary 3 cows for a wife as beautiful as his youngest daughter.  But he hoped that since it was the richest man on the island maybe he would receive the 5 cows that had set the record some time in the past.

Imagine his surprise when the man showed up with not 3, not 5, but 10 cows - an unheard of price - and not for the beautiful, younger daughter as one would expect, but for the plain, older daughter.  The villagers were in a state of shock - surely this young man was crazy!

As also was the custom, the honeymoon lasted two years. At the end of that time, the couple was to return to the village. A lookout saw the couple approaching, ran to the other villagers, and told them that the young man had returned - but he was with a different wife. As the couple drew nearer to the village, the people saw that the lookout was wrong.

The wife was really the older daughter - but there was something different about her (no plastic surgery in those days) and the way she carried herself - it was just that she had become a ten-cow wife. She had come to believe that she was worth ten cows because someone else believed that she was worth it.

Many of us are fortunate to have a spouse that loves us and makes us feel that we are worth ten cows.

But there are times when the soul cries out for more. 

While so many are looking outside to find true meaning and value the Word of God makes it clear that ultimately it is to be satisfied only in a relationship with our Creator God through our Lord Jesus.

The Hebrew word for Glory is the word “kabowd” – Strong’s lexicon defines it as “weight” conveying the meaning of substance/value.

In the Greek it is “doxa” which comes from a root that carries the meaning of opinion/judgment.

When we consider Colosians 1:27 which says of the believers,  “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory …”

Here in this passage we can plainly see that it is having Christ in you that is where we find our real value.

It is God’s opinion that bestows value and meaning and purpose on any person.  Only when we identify with Christ Jesus will we fulfill our purpose and find what the soul longs for.

So in those times when you feel less than happy with yourself – when the Devil or the world would remind you of your failures and tell you that you are insignificant; remind them of the One who so values you that He laid down His perfect life for you.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.” John 15:13

How astounding, that He who is of infinite value would sacrifice Himself to save a wretch like me.

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”   Jer 31:3

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Jer 29:11

True value is not found in self, it is found in Christ.  When we redirect our interest from the self to Christ – when Christ becomes preeminent in our lives and we see ourselves as God sees us – that is when we discover our true worth.

The woman of in the Hawiian legend may have been worth ten cows to her husband, but any child of God is worth a lot more than ten cows. We are worth the life of the son of God, who gave himself for each one of us.

We should never forget that as the adopted of God we are precious to Him.

And I finish with this:

In John 17:20-26

Jesus prayed not just for His twelve Apostles, but also He said "… for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

"And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

"Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.       

"O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

Just remember, it is the Love of the Father that gives His people value – our esteem is found in Christ Jesus and not in ourselves or anything that we do.

It has been well said that, “If one has everything, but has not Christ, he has nothing.  But if one has Christ, ‘though he has nothing, he has everything.”

 

Amen