You Are Precious in His Sight

by Emily Hunt

Have you ever seen the PBS television show, Antiques Roadshow?  The program features local antique owners who bring in all kinds of obscure items to be appraised by experts. Most often, the owners walk away disappointed after being told that their item is worth about as much as it looks like it would be worth. However, every time I watch this show, I am shocked at the number of seemingly worthless items that receive appraisals of thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars. How can something so ugly be worth so much?

            Do you ever feel like the people on this show? Do you feel the need to seek not only the approval of this world, but an appraisal as well? Do you present yourself before the “experts” of this world to ask your worth? I know I do. “Here I am world! Here are all my talents, abilities, personality traits, my looks, and my possessions! What am I worth? Do you want me?”

            If you are anything like I am, you may sometimes walk away from the expert appraisers of this world with your head hung low. You thought you had a lot to offer, but why doesn’t anyone else see that? You fought so hard for that position or promotion, but somebody else beat you out. You work yourself ragged day in and day out, yet you never hear those words of thankfulness from the people you love. You gave everything you had to that man who said he loved you, but he left you anyway. You struggle to understand your purpose in this life. You find yourself consumed with questions like, “Why am I not good enough? What is wrong with me? Why doesn’t anybody appreciate me? Why doesn’t anybody want me? Why doesn’t anybody love me?”

            Maybe you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum and the appraisal you receive from the world pleases you and in it you find your worth. You are generally well-liked. You got that job you worked so hard for. You live in a highly respected neighborhood in a beautiful house that is the envy of all your friends. You keep up with all the latest fashion trends and can even afford to fill your closet with such things. Life is treating you well and you feel that you have found your place. If this describes you, you must ask yourself: “What if I lost all of this? What if I had nothing? Would I still be content? Would I still feel worthy?”

            No matter which end of the spectrum you identified yourself with, we all share the same problem. So often, we run to the appraisers of this world to find our worth. We throw everything we have at them and beg them to tell us that we are worth something. We compare ourselves to everyone else around us and wonder why we can’t have what they have. When did we get the idea that we have to be found worthy in the eyes of the world? Who told us that we need to fit in with this world? The answer is simple: The world itself tells us that. Our sinful, worldly flesh seeks the desires of this world. We look to the world to give us our value. 

To understand what is wrong with this picture, I want you to think about a dollar bill. Who determined that a dollar bill is worth 100 cents? The government set that value. What gives the government the right to give a dollar bill its value?  The government created the dollar bill. What if the dollar bill gets crumpled up, stomped on, or even spit on. Does it still have the same value? Absolutely.

I hope you are starting to see where I am going with this. What right does the world have to determine your value? Does the world have any ownership over you? No. Then why, WHY do we look to the world for our worth? Just like that dollar bill, our value is determined by our Creator. God tells us in the Psalms that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). We know who our Maker is, and it is in him and from him that we find our worth.

And our God loves us so incredibly much that he seeks after us when we stray from him and his Word. Our God loves us so incredibly much that he does not count our sins against us; rather, he has already prepared a place for us in his perfect and glorious heavenly kingdom. If you are still struggling with feelings of worthlessness, please let this last truth sink in to your heart. Our God loves us so incredibly much that he gave up his one and only Son. Our perfect Creator sent his perfect Son to live a perfect life and die an innocent death in our place. You probably know these words by heart, but let the words resonate in your heart:  “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  How is it even possible that we could ever feel worthless after hearing such a beautiful message as this?

Do you remember my question at the beginning of this article about Antiques Roadshow? I asked, how can something so ugly be worth so much? Here we are, the ugliest of sinners, standing before our Maker. Our appraisal should tell us that we are completely worthless; so worthless in fact, that we deserve to die eternally in hell. However, God in his amazing mercy and love looks at us through the grace of Jesus and sees his beautiful children whom he loves unconditionally.  God looks at us and sees people who are more precious than gold or silver, so precious because of the blood of his own Son.

When you are feeling worthless, remember that God loves you with an unconditional, all-consuming, and redemptive love. Remember that your appraisal comes from Christ alone. Remember that you are so deeply loved, highly treasured, and mercifully redeemed. Look to the world no longer. Look to Christ. You are precious in his sight. 

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