I was reminded of something tonight at Kairos. It goes a little like this:

The world determines your worth by what you can contribute to the collective and by how much they can squeeze out of you. Which means that if you’re unable to contribute in a meaningful way, you have no value and can be disposed of, whether you’re unborn, a special needs child or an elderly person.

Mother Teresa said once that it is a poverty that a child must die so that you may live as you wish. It’s a poverty that anyone should die because they are an inconvenience to our way of life. It’s a tragedy when human life becomes cheap.

On the other hand, God values us for bearing His image and because He made us. No other reason. The Bible says that before God made us, He chose us. He set His love on us.

You are more than a random collection of molecules brought about by accident or chance. You are uniquely designed by the Creator, one of a kind and priceless in God’s eyes.

Remember that. People will treat you like you’re worthless. Some will even call you worthless. But God through Jesus and the Cross says that you are priceless.

One of my favorite writers, Henri Nouwen, wrote:

“First of all, you have to keep unmasking the world about you for what it is: manipulative, controlling, power-hungry, and, in the long run, destructive. The world tells you many lies about who you are, and you simply have to be realistic enough to remind yourself of this. Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself: ‘These feelings, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God’s eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting belief” (Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World).