Having lost the security of being rooted in the eternal reality of the Word of God, we are looking to busy activity to fill the void that has been created in our lives. And under that bondage to activity we find it difficult to linger with the Word simply for the joy of it. In fact, we may be afraid to stop our busyness lest it expose the shallowness of our lives. So we go on from activity to activity, from project to project. But activity is a dangerous source of fulfillment. Instead of finding our identity, our sense of self-worth, from our relationship with God, we begin to look to success in programs and other earthly indicators of success for our self-worth. But these will never satisfy. This will only enslave us more in our bondage to activity.
The Joy of Truth by Ajith Fernando taken from The Supremacy of Christ by Ajith Fernando, copyright 1995, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org, p. 111.
People who treat others as inferior are those who themselves suffer from a sense of inferiority and insecurity. Others are a threat to them because they don’t have a sense of being important to the eternal God. They don’t have the assurance that this God will look after them more than adequately. When we lose sight of our identity in Christ, lesser identifying features, like race, class, caste, and education, become significant. We try to find our identity by acting more significant than others.
The New Humanity by Ajith Fernando taken from The Supremacy of Christ by Ajith Fernando, copyright 1995, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org, p. 200.
God doesn’t love us because of our worth, we are of worth because God loves us.
Quoted by Melvin Tinker, Wisdom to Live By, Christian Focus Publications, 1998, p. 115. Used by Permission.
I heard R. C. Sproul explain it this way: He said that apart from God there is no reason for human significance and no grounds for self-worth. Consider the alternative. If you don’t believe in God, then you don’t have any reason for being here. You must believe that you are simply the product of impersonal time plus chance. And when you die, you must believe that you simply cease to exist and vanish into eternal nothingness. In short, if you leave God out, what you are left with is this: You didn’t come from anywhere and you aren’t going anywhere after you die. This is the humanist dilemma. They say, “You come from nothing and you’re going to nothing, but in between you have great significance.” It doesn’t make sense at all.
The Christian’s Supreme Boast, Jer. 9:23-24, 1997. Pastor, Author, President, Keep Believing Ministries.
There is a sense in which the human soul has caved in on itself and is now held captive by a fixation with its own states and conditions and concerns. The soul has become parasitic on itself, feeding on its needs and cravings by excessive introspection and elaborate attempts to elevate its sense of self-worth. Your soul was never meant for this. You were designed for something better. You were built for the contemplation of something infinitely more complex, something incomparably more fascinating than your own “self.” You were created for the joyful contemplation of God.
One Thing, Christian Focus, © Enjoying God Ministries, 2004, p.85-86. www.enjoyinggodministries.com. Used by Permission.
My worth is what I am worth to God; and that is a marvelous great deal, for Christ died for me. Thus, incidentally, what gives to each of us His highest worth gives the same worth to everyone; in all that matters most are we equal.
The Citizen and Churchman, Eyre and Spottiswood, 1951, p. 74.
Men and women are the jewel in the crown of God’s creation – that of all the beings in the universe only men and women are God-like, bearing His image (Genesis 1:26-27).
Wisdom to Live By, Christian Focus Publications, 1998, p. 112. Used by Permission.
Whether they were rich or poor, religious or pagan, sick or healthy, it didn’t matter; every single person was valued and loved by (Jesus), and by loving them He actually increased their value.
Wisdom to Live By, Christian Focus Publications, 1998, p. 114. Used by Permission.
If we leave the soil of our [children’s] self-worth unwatered by our unconditional admiration, we send them into a world happy to satisfy that parched ground with conditional praise.
To Your Daughter, Speak the Truth, February 16, 2016. Seen on the Gospel Coalition website.
