We need to feel we have value

Where do you find your sense of worth? If you were a boastful person, what would you boast about?

The LORD says, “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me” (Jeremiah 9:23–24).

If a person boasts, it is because one of the strongest motivations in life is to find significance, importance, worth. We need to feel we have value. It is crushing to think that we are worthless or inferior to others. Whether we boast or not, we all pursue significance.

How we pursue self-worth

We need to be aware of how we try to get worth and how that affects our motivations.

Unfortunately, we may choose insignificant ways to get significance. We seek worth through success, or money, beauty, a chiseled body, knowledge, skill, achievements, power, position, love, fame.

None of these are wrong in themselves, but they do not add to our worth.

And they can be hard to get.

If we fall short of these, our ego will find something to take pride in, even trivial things. Things like whether our pants or shoes are in style. The success of our sports team. The brands we use and how much we paid. The speed and capacity of our technology. Our race, haircut, or knowledge of trivia. The ability to cook a particular dish. A collection of bottles.

We are so voracious for significance that we can take pride in literally anything.

How God gives self-worth

Jeremiah 9:23–24, quoted above, says that there is only one legitimate, effective way to find significance: by knowing God.

That is because God alone is intrinsically worthy, significant, and glorious, and he alone gives worth to his creation. When he gives worth, that worth is enormous.

When he speaks a word of approval or honor, then sooner or later every living human and angel will recognize that worth and likewise give honor. If God does not approve, if he dishonors someone or something, then it will pass away and be forgotten.

So boasting is okay under just one condition: if we are humbly boasting in our relationship with God, fully aware that God is the one who gets all the credit.

But in a sense, we proudly boast in the glory of God. We don’t feel second-rate because we find our worth in him or that he is second best to all the cool things to boast about in this world.

If you know God, if you know how to walk with him as he requires, if you know the wisdom he reveals in his Word, if you know Jesus Christ as Savior, if you know his character and nature, if you love him and delight in your personal relationship with him through prayer throughout each day, you don’t need to prop up your ego with the passing trophies of this world. You have the greatest significance possible.

Signs that you pursue your self-worth in God

What indicates that you find your significance in knowing God? Three things come quickly to mind:

How much you read the Bible
Whether you connect with God in prayer throughout each day
Struggling with feelings of inferiority or envy if you compare yourself to others

Would you agree? What would you add to this list? Contribute to the Knowing God community by sharing a comment below.

Do you have an impossible job?

Last night a woman in our church told how God had just given her success on a large, important project at work.

She is a website architect working for a big downtown bank that hired her specifically to upgrade their site’s interface for those with disabilities.

One impossible job

But everyone with whom she directly worked told her: You can’t do this. You will fail. You don’t have the necessary intelligence for this.

Indeed, she agreed. She didn’t know how to do it.

No one knew how to do what the bank was asking. One technician told her he could not do in a year even part of what the company was asking to be done in six months. These were uncharted waters.

She feared what would happen if she failed. That she would lose her job and pay. That she would have to move away.

Unceasing prayer

So she called out to God. All day long, every day, she prayed fervently over every detail, every web page, every line of code. She literally wept and prayed. She felt small and vulnerable.

But she also had fierce conviction that God was great enough to help her with an impossible job. She kept crying out to God day after day, planning functionalities, writing code, telling her team of developers what to do. She worked hard. Day after day she received wisdom for one piece of the project after another. Every step and idea was a discovery.

And so, week after week, one piece, one page, one functionality of the website after another came together. Months passed and the progress continued. The hand of God was upon her, and he blessed her entire team.

Great success

With the deadline approaching they were ready to release their work. They were ready to go live with approximately eighty new web pages of cutting edge technology.

On the day of release they discovered one minor problem. Just one easily fixed bug. But everything else worked flawlessly.

Last night our website architect told this story and enthusiastically gave God all the glory.

Divine wisdom for impossible jobs

As she spoke, a Scripture came to my mind, and when she finished I read it.

The story is about a young man whom a pagan king recruited to serve in his court. For three years he received training in the language, literature, and wisdom of that culture. At the end of that period, he Daniel and three Hebrew friends were brought before the king for a final exam.

“And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom” (Daniel 1:20).

Proverbs 2:6 says, “The LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

2 Timothy 2:7 says, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”

Do you need to be a pastor to know God and his ways, to experience God working at your right hand?

No, you just need to have work to do. You need to sense your need of God’s help, to know that you can’t do anything apart from him. And you need to cry out to him with faith continually. To work hard. And then watch God work. In the end you will give him glory.