Tag: value

What is Missing?

Do you feel you need more to be happy, or are you content with the blessings you already have?

The picture attached to this post is a picture of my dashboard. Let me start by saying, when I bought my car several years ago, I did some serious car shopping. I wanted a car with every possible option because I was planning on driving this car for many years. I thought my car had everything on it that was possible until I saw this place where obviously another option was available. Once I noticed this, I became obsessed about what might have been there, but wasn’t.

Instead of looking at all the features my car had, I was consumed thinking about what was missing. I had been cheated; I was missing out. After looking in the manual and realizing the missing switch was for the heated steering wheel, I really felt deprived.

So often, we feel this way in life when we begin to compare ourselves to others. We become consumed with what others have and what we don’t have. Maybe it’s a bigger house, the latest fashion trend, or some FB post that creates a desire for something you don’t have. Even though we are surrounded by blessings, we are focused on what is missing.

Hebrews 13:5 NIV tells us to “Keep your lives free from the love of money and to be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

 I wish I could say that I have never been guilty of seeing someone in a pair of shoes, then grabbing my phone to search the internet to find those shoes because I just have to add them to my collection. This mindset isn’t what God desires for us. He desires for us to be content with what we have and to find our joy and pleasure in Him. Our worth and value is set by God; not by what we have.

I’m not going to lie, there is joy in getting a new pair of shoes. However, that joy is short term.  It is only a couple of weeks or the next season until another pair of shoes are needed. Compare this to the promise “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Joy and peace truly can be found when we change our focus from what we might be missing to what we have and what God has provided.

I pray for you and for me that we can find our value and be content in the way God has created us and what he has provided for us instead of always looking for what is missing or what we don’t have.

How Much are you Worth?

The drive to Woodward is a trek I have made more times than I can count since I moved for saleaway 30 some years ago.  I visited my mom and dad on a somewhat regular basis, but during the two years Scott and I were dating, I headed down highway 270 at least once a month.  One of the interesting sites along the road is this pasture with multiple cars parked out by the highway.  For some reason, I always notice these cars as they mark the spot where I am about 7 miles from home.  These cars have been parked here for years.  Really, I’ve glanced at these cars as I drove by for as long as I can remember.  I’ve never seen anyone stop and look at them as if they might want to purchase them.  I’ve never seen a sign marking the price or a price reduction.  They are just sitting there waiting to be purchased.

As we have been trying to sell our house, it is very clear that a house or any object is only worth what someone is willing to pay.  It doesn’t really matter what you paid for it originally, how much you have spent on improvements, or how much the house next door sold for.  What really matters is the amount a buyer is willing to pay at the time you want to sell.  Clearly, no one is willing to pay for these vehicles what the buyer is asking.  I don’t even know if there is an engine in either one of them.  If the farmer that lives here wants to move these cars out of his field, he is going to have to lower the price to what someone is willing to pay.

I must admit there have been times in my life where I felt like these cars.  I felt what I had to offer was not of value to anyone or worthy enough to be desired.  These feelings have popped up at different times in my life.  First as a young mother who had no idea what I was doing.  I was convinced that all other mothers were much more equipped for the job than I was.  I identified so many mistakes in my parenting skills, I couldn’t see any value in myself.  There have been other times when I tried to judge my value based on what I saw in the mirror.  All I could see were the faults that lowered my value in my mind.  There is no good that can come from those thoughts.  I also battle with the misconception that I can somehow increase my value by the possessions I own.  The thought that a designer purse will make be a better person is nothing but a lie.

A low point in my value meter came at a time in my career when I faced on a daily basis criticism and rejection.  I truly began to believe I was inept and unqualified for the position I held.  Fortunately, during these times, either through scripture or through friends who encouraged me and lifted me up, I was able to regain my confidence and realize I was beautifully and wonderfully made.

As I was writing this, I pulled out my journal to find the scriptures I leaned on during these times.  I wanted to share just a few with you.

Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.”  Put it in God’s hands and then our thoughts can be free from worry – Angela’s version (AV)

Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you.  Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”  Okay, God is talking to the Israelites, but He is the same God today as He was yesterday.  I don’t have to be afraid and worry.  He will take care of me. – AV

Psalm 56:4  “In God I have put my trust, I will not fear.  What can mere mortals do to me?”  My value comes from God not man.  My trust is in Him, not those around me – AV

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.  They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  In those days when you pray, I will listen.”  Whether I feel like an inadequate mother, a humdrum dresser, or that I’m in over my head at work, God has placed me here for a purpose and that purpose is to carry out his plan.  I am valuable because I have a plan to carryout. – AV

I want to wrap up with a point that contradicts Economics 101.  Our value isn’t based on supply and demand, determined by what others desire or set through our own critical viewpoint.   Our value is based on our creator and the price that was paid for our salvation.  Like a piece of art, the value increases based on the quality of the artist.  We were created in the image of God by the creator of the universe for a specific purpose.  How could we be anything but of the highest quality?