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Are you only as important as your paycheck?
When the bank has failed, the account is empty, the electricity is off and the computer is useless—what are you worth?
In an affluent world that measures accomplishment by currency, the society around us often loses touch with basic human worth and fixates on financial résumés. We live in that world, too, and absorb the thought currents that surround us.
What if…?
What if we lived in a society that wasn’t based purely on a system of financial wages? What if we lived in a society that valued work and the fruits of physical and agricultural effort above hard currency?
Sounds like something from Karl Marx, right? Thankfully no—try again!
Picture a government that is instructed by a just and peace-inducing moral code. One that cracks down on people who prey on others for financial greed and conduct business using the age-old robbery called usury—extremely high interest rates.
A society that is based on free enterprise, but that prevents the downward spiral of generational poverty with laws that periodically emancipate those in significant debt. Not only that, but a society that values increased agricultural yield while preserving the genetic integrity of plant and animal life.
Sounds like the green movement, right? Not quite—but keep trying!
How about…?
How about a world with minimal illness and physical deterioration as the result of positive behaviors and dietary codes allowing the human body to achieve the highest level of good health? How about a system of belief that produces the maximum level of happiness and joy-filled living ever witnessed on the earth?
Sounds like the latest best-selling book on finding spiritual and physical perfection, right?
Wrong—the truth is, all of the above descriptions are derived from one source—the Bible. The Word of God outlines a future society that far outshines what humans have ever imagined, and it’s been sitting in the words of the prophets of God for thousands of years!
Remarkably, this foretold society will soon exist, lasting an entire millennium—inaugurated by no less than the return of Jesus Christ to the earth! To learn more about that time please read “The Wonderful World Beyond Today…A Return to Eden.”
True personal value?
What does all of this have to do with measuring personal value?
A society, like the one described above, creates positive currents of thought. People are prized for their contributions—in both effort and finance—to each other and to the higher power—God.
However, if all of this is in the future, how then do we apply that same sense of value now?
This is the part that requires changing our thinking processes and stepping out of the mainstream by reading, understanding and following the law of God in the Bible. The Ten Commandments that God gave the ancient nation of Israel and that Jesus Christ taught to those who followed Him are designed to produce the positive outcomes listed above.
When we value God, by following His ways, He promises certain blessings, not because we’re so great that we deserve them, but because God values us. He made our lives possible. He loves His human creation. In fact, He loves us so much that He is willing to bring all who have ever lived and will ever live into His spiritual state of existence as His family—now that is value!
Simply put—your worth is in the eyes of God. VT
- About the author -
Amanda Stiver lives near Columbus, Ohio, where in addition to her Vertical Thought duties she works as a freelance writer and editor.
“You’re wrong!”
“No, you are!”
“No, you are!”
“No, you are!”
I heard that commercial on the radio the other day—a parody of sports commentators arguing about some ball game analysis. But it reminded me of the current U.S. presidential race. Every four years Americans see and hear thousands of commercials somewhat like that:
“I’m the best one for the job.”
“You’re wrong!”
“No, you are!”
“No, you are!”
Admittedly, the commercials have slightly more substance than that—but not much.
The power of the sound bite
When Sarah Palin became the 2008 Republican candidate for vice president, thousands of people began searching to learn more about this little-known governor of distant Alaska. Many criticized her; many praised her; and millions of Americans quickly changed their minds one way or another about how they would vote. Most of this was based on a few brief TV appearances and sound bites.
Does the public really know much about Mrs. Palin, or for that matter about any of the other candidates? Most of our knowledge comes from hearing brief comments and arguments that add up to little more than the dialogue above.
Sometimes politicians give longer speeches and publish essays on their policies, but how deep do they go? And how many people pay attention? If almost no one looks below the surface for qualifications, will leaders be motivated to develop them? Or will they be satisfied with simply creating good sound bites and an attractive image?
The power of substance
There is a story in the Bible that shows a very different method of considering people.
When God wanted a new king for ancient Israel, He sent the prophet Samuel to the home of a man named Jesse. Once there, Samuel was very impressed with his host’s tall, handsome, oldest son.
But God was looking for something else. He told Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7, New International Version).
Samuel soon met the youngest of Jesse’s sons, who eventually became Israel’s greatest leader: King David.
Your heart and character
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could, like God, see below the surface of a candidate and look at his or her “heart”—the character and substance of the person? Sadly, we can’t, so for now voters in democratic nations continue to choose leaders based largely on sound bites and advertising images.
But there is one person’s heart you can see, and that you can do something about—your own!
Politicians may have little motive to develop character below the surface if voters don’t read their hearts. But God does look below the surface. If He looks at my heart—and at yours—isn’t that a pretty good reason to work hard at improving our inner character?
I’m not running for president or any other office, but the Bible indicates that God wants to prepare people now for leadership positions in a new and better world to come. Vertical thinkers will be among those leaders—but we won’t be chosen based on sound bites. To learn more about that future, read “Molding Your Personality for Leadership.”
God reads our hearts—the character that drives us—and that is where we can make a great personal difference! VT
- About the Author -
Frank Dunkle has a Ph.D. in American history. He and his wife, Sue, live and work in Columbus, Ohio, where they attend the United Church of God.
