Assigning Worth
We take for granted that things have worth. But what is worth? What is it that makes one thing more valuable than another? If I have two options of how to spend my life, which option should I prioritize? Which one will be more worth it?
Perhaps the most important question to answer is simply who determines worth? Is it the political elites in the world? Is it the democratic consensus of the masses? Is worth determined simply by whatever I individually want it to be?
Sense of Self-Worth
In mainstream American media, there’s a growing sentiment that individuals should be unrestrained by their social environment. Under this new cultural philosophy, you shouldn’t be able to tell me if I’m right or wrong. Other people shouldn’t be able to limit what I’m allowed to do. I should have the autonomous right to determine who I am, what is my truth, and what I am worth.
On the surface, this sounds like a philosophy of human empowerment. But in reality, this is a philosophy of human deprecation. If it’s true that my worth is truly set by me – that my significance is tied up simply in how I think about myself – then my value isn’t stable. It isn’t secure. Though I may think well of myself on days that I’m succeeding, what about those days that I feel like a failure? When I feel worthless, does that mean I really am?
It can initially sound freeing to cut off outside voices, and to insist that they can’t tell you what’s true for you. But if you and I really must follow our hearts to learn about ourselves – if your feelings and desires actually determine what’s true for you, then when you feel worthless, it would mean you actually are worthless, regardless of what anyone else tells you.
The Question of Human Worth
Let’s assume, then, that human beings have real worth that doesn’t depend on self-evaluation. Where does it come from? We can’t say that human importance is determined by Mother Nature, because Nature doesn’t assign value judgments. In the natural world we may see how things are, but we don’t receive an interpretive key to tell us whether the things we observe are good, bad, worthless, or worthwhile.
In fact, we know that the natural world exists. But that doesn’t tell us whether or not existence is better than non-existence, or whether survival is better than non-survival. The natural world doesn’t tell us how the value of worms compares to the value of human beings. The natural world doesn’t tell us how to understand worth.
So is worth a real thing for human beings? If not, why are we concerned about preserving human life? Why does everyone seem to be born with a fine-tuned sense of good, bad, better, and worse? Doesn’t this suggest that we were uniquely created both to have worth and to understand it?
Assuming human beings do have worth, how do we know that each human life is equally significant? Might worth be based on how useful someone is? How educated someone is? How wealthy someone is? How attractive someone is? Or does the very history of what humanity is guarantee that each human life is equally precious?
The Worthy One Who Assigns Worth
The Holy Bible accounts for all these questions. According to Genesis 1, humanity is specially made in the image and likeness of God. And this gives humanity inherent value that’s distinctly greater than the plants, animals, and everything else. And at the end of His work of creating, God demonstrates that he’s not only the Creator, but he’s also the ultimate Assessor. He announces that his work is very good.
Notice, then, where worth comes from in this God-centered way of understanding the world. When we recognize that worth is objectively determined by God, this frees us from the traps of self-doubt and self-loathing. Because our worth is solid, sure, and unmoving – because it rests in the unchanging assessment of God rather than my emotions. If God declares that those made in his image all have unique dignity and significance – if He determines that one way is right and another way is wicked – if He announces that someone is clean and free through faith in Jesus – we can trust his voice. We can know what he says is truth.
You are not worthless. You aren’t just an accidental lump of carbon dust floating through a cold, empty universe. you’re worth more than 10 million worms, because you were created to bear the likeness of the transcendent divine Glory. You were made to exemplify the goodness of the God who made you – who cares for you – who values you. You are worth much to Him. Won’t He be worth something to you?
