A Word from the WORD
How Much Are You Worth?
by Alvin Garcia
According to a DataGenetics article[1], if we were to reduce the human body and break it down to the basic elements, the grand total of material cost for a typical human body is a meager $160!
Recently in May 2020, a pair of Michael Jordan’s game-worn sneakers (Air Jordan 1 from 1985) signed by the NBA legend, sold at anonline auction for a whopping $560,000![2]
This begs the question: would you agree that you are worth less than a pair of sneakers?
The example on the human body was a value based on utility or use. The second example is value based on perception. To Michael Jordan’s fanatics, this pair of sneakers would topany collector’s items list. In addition to being associated with the most famous NBA star, time has made this item an item of value. Time determines a thing’s perceived value.
Our currency is an example of value based on both perception and usefulness. The bills we all carry in our wallets just assumes value because we all agree that they have value. However, currency is of course also useful. But the currency that circulated 50 years ago don’t carry much value now and are not useful, apart from maybe being collected as antiques. Time then also determines usefulness.
In the tiny Micronesian island of Yap, the currency that has been used for centuries by the Yapese people are human-sized stone discs called rai stones. If we were to take one such stone disc and transport it to the Philippines, I doubt if it would have “value,” much less used as a currency. Space then also determines what we consider to be valuable.
If value then is based on usefulness and perception, and further defined by time and space, how then is true value determined? How much are we really worth? What is our true value?
Let’s look at some passages in the Bible:
Genesis 1:26-27 says, “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.So God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them;male and female he created them.”
We can see that before the fall (Genesis 3), man was originally a bearer of God’s image. Our original design, intended by our Maker, is for us to have dominion over His creation.
Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being [or a living soul – KJV].”
We can also see that aside from our physical bodies, we have all been infused with a soul. We are therefore, more than the physical elements comprising our bodies. This soul, the Bible further asserts, is itself eternal. One soul is worth more than all the physical creation of this vast universe! (Mark 8:36)
God has declared all his creation to be good, especially mankind.Psalm 139:14, our company’s flagship verse, says:
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.”
Mankind, by virtue of being made in the image of God, is the crown jewel of His creation. Humans are capable of great feats and achievements, and naturally derives all of these from God — the fountainhead and source of all wisdom and creativity. Because of curse of sin laid by the fall of our first parents, God has been in the business of redeeming what was lost since the fall– namely His original design for mankind. That is why, if you are Christian and have a personal relationship with Him, God is calling you His “special possession.” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Since we are so valuable, or precious, in God’s sight? How are we to respond? What shall we do then, but to take care of our body and soul?
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