How Much Are You Worth?
“What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
I Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV)
The human body is composed of 65% Oxygen, 18% Carbon, 10% Hydrogen, 3% Nitrogen, 1.2% Calcium, 1% Phosphorous, .35% Potassium, .25% Sulphur, .15% Sodium, .15 Chlorine, .05% Magnesium, .004% Iron & .00004% Iodine, along with trace quantities of Fluorine, Silicon, Manganese, Zinc, Copper, Aluminium and Arsenic. The total cost of all of these ‘ingredients’ would be less than one dollar reports the U.S. Bureau of Chemistry and Soils.
According to one source, “Our most valuable asset is our skin, which the Japanese invested their time and money in measuring…..Cut and dried, the average person is the proud owner of fourteen to eighteen square feet of skin…..Basing the skin’s value on the selling price of cowhide…..the value of an average person’s skin is about 3.50 dollars.”
You can also read of human body parts being sold, from corneas and kidneys, to surrogate mothers selling babies. These increase the monetary price of the human being considerably. Other places you can read of human trafficking, where people are bought and sold like slaves.
Yet the value of a human is greater than his physical parts. The earning value of an average life, based on an average wage of £24,000/year for 30 years would be £720,000. Some individuals, like actors, lawyers or politicians are perceived as ‘worth’ far more, being lucky, talented, or in some cases, wicked!
Self-esteem is a fragile thing that often seems to depend upon where you were born, your talents and how clever you are. Perhaps people value you more if you are beautiful or strong or powerful. Many people think or have been told or taught that they are worthless. Sometimes Christians feel it is wrong to have a feeling of worth–that this is a sin of pride.
We have all been bought with a price and redeemed from slavery to sin, to the freedom in Christ that is available to all (Romans 8:1-4, 13-21 NIV). To God we are precious and priceless. He paid for us with the death of his only son, so that we can be a part of his family, and gives to us the gift of eternal life. We are approaching that time of the year that commemorates this sacrifice. This is a good time to express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father, as well as to reflect on the value of every human life.
Because you’re worth it!
Prayer
Thank you for sending your Son to be our Redeemer and Saviour. It is very humbling to think that you value each of us so highly. It is easy to be influenced by the world’s values but we want to live by your values. Help us to reflect our worth in our lives by our conduct, and to honour others’ value by treating them with love and respect.
Amen
Study by Nancy Silcox