Search For Significance

I was looking through my bookshelves not too long ago and I saw a book that Beth had read many years ago with some women from our church.  The book is entitled, The Search For Significance by Robert S. McGee.  I am only a fraction of the way through it but, so far, it is very good.  The author says that our desire to be loved and accepted is actually a symptom of a deeper need - our need for self-worth.

In the beginning, Adam & Eve had self-worth but through sin, they lost it - and humankind has been struggling to find it ever since.  The way that we currently determine our self-worth is a combination of  our behavior (performance) and what others think/say about us (opinions).  This causes us to be either compulsive (driven, goal-oriented, perfectionistic) or to withdraw from others.  These kinds of reactions then result in us either chasing the proverbial carrot-on-the-stick or going into a protective shell where others can't hurt us.

There is no doubt that our struggle with self-worth is behind many of our problems.  When we succeed, we like ourselves.  When we fail, we don't like ourselves.  When others say good things about us and give us their approval, we like ourselves.  When others are silent or disapproving of us, we don't like ourselves.  I know that, in my own life, I struggle a lot with the ups and downs of my opinion of my performance and/or the opinions of others.

Of course, the only way to gain self-worth is through God.  As we experience His forgiveness we realize two things - that we have purpose and meaning in life (to glorify God) and that we are of worth and value to God.  These are eternal facts that will never change.  This means that our self-worth should be constant - no longer  going up and down like a yo-yo depending upon how we've done lately or tied exclusively to the opinions of others.

However, as is always the case, there is a vast difference between knowing the truth and believing the truth.  Despite what God has done for them, many Christians struggle with their sense of self-worth because they can't bring themselves to believe the truth - they would rather believe the lie of Satan that they are unlovable, that they are of no worth or value to God.

The reality is that God must have thought that we have worth for He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us.  And Jesus must have also thought that we have worth since He agreed to His Father's plan to redeem us.  So let's get this straight, once-and-for-all - our worth is not in our talents, performance or the opinions of others.  Our worth is found in God who loves us with an everlasting love!

Lord, release me from the need and desire to get my sense of self-worth from myself and/or from others.  Help me to believe the truth about myself that, as Your child, I have value and worth in Your eyes, now and forever!  In Jesus' name, Amen.