Three Ways to Define Our Personal Worth and the Path to Empowering Purpose

Gunfire erupted at a house party packed with hundreds of guests late Saturday night in New Jersey. Two people were killed; at least twelve more were wounded. 

Yesterday, a cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop view in northern Italy plummeted to the ground, killing at least fourteen people. And twenty-one people running a mountain ultramarathon in northwestern China died after hail, freezing rain, and gale winds hit the high-altitude race.  

It is estimated that nearly 150,000 people die each day around the world. And yet, these thirty-seven deaths, 0.02 percent of the total, are leading the news this morning. Why is this? 

You and I have a God-given sense of the value of human life. We cannot comprehend 150,000 deaths, so this number is less impactful for us. But we can envision people being shot to death at a party, or plummeting to earth in a cable car, or dying in extreme weather. 

We know intuitively that every person is of intrinsic worth. The question is: What is the basis for this worth? The future of our society and of our souls hinges upon our answer.

Value-Based on Class or Personal Authenticity 

Throughout the Israel-Hamas conflict, a consistent theme in Western media was that Israel is the aggressor and the Palestinians are their victims. This is despite the fact that Hamas launched missiles first and pledges in its charter to destroy Israel. 

As we noted last week, a narrative championed by Columbia University professor Edward Said claims that the West views the East through a patriarchal, colonial lens. This claim is linked with Critical Theory, the academic assertion that all people are to be viewed in classes. In this case, Israel is a wealthy oppressor, while the Palestinians are impoverished victims. 

In other words, to answer our question, our value lies in our class as oppressor or oppressed. 

A second answer is at the heart of the abortion debate we discussed last week following the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case that could undermine Roe v. Wade. We noted that 93 percent of abortions are chosen for reasons other than rape, incest, or the health of the mother or the child. The vast majority reflect our secular belief that personal authenticity is the key to flourishing. We should do whatever makes us happy; our bodies are ours to do with as we wish. Or so we’re told. 

In other words, to answer our question, our value lies in our personal happiness as we live our most authentic selves. 

Grief at the End of the Road 

How are these approaches to personal significance working for us? 

The first paints us into corners as victims and oppressors by definition of unchanging classes and characteristics. Jews will always be Jews; Arabs will always be Arabs. Thus, the two must be locked in racially determined conflict. This, by the way, is precisely how Hamas frames its war on Israel’s existence. It is a zero-sum calculation that must end by ending the future for one of the contesting cultures. 

The second approach claims that we can define our best future for ourselves through personal authenticity. It makes no allowance for our fallen, sinful natures. Nor does it offer us any resources outside ourselves for resolving our guilt, healing our wounds, or guiding our future. 

In addition to the inevitable personal loss and grief at the end of these now-popular roads, we must remember the fact of divine judgment. Our eternal destiny depends on whether we have made Jesus our Savior and Lord (John 14:6CloseJohn 14:6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ;Acts 4:12CloseActs 4:12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved." OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). And our eternal reward depends on whether we have lived for his glory as his children and servants of others (cf.Matthew 25:1-45CloseMatthew 25:1-45 "Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids* who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn't take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight they were roused by the shout, `Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!' "All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, `Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.' "But the others replied, `We don't have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.' "But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, `Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!' "But he called back, `Believe me, I don't know you!' "So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return. "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver* to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. "The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money. "After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, `Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.' "The master was full of praise. `Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!*' "The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, `Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.' "The master said, `Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!' "Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, `Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn't plant and gathering crops you didn't cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.' "But the master replied, `You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn't plant and gathered crops I didn't cultivate, why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.' "Then he ordered, `Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "But when the Son of Man* comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations* will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' "Then these righteous ones will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?' "And the King will say, `I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,* you were doing it to me!' "Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, `Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.* For I was hungry, and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn't give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn't invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn't give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.' "Then they will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?' "And he will answer, `I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.' OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15Close1 Corinthians 3:10-15 Because of God's grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person's work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) .) 

Making Every Day Pentecost

God offers us a third answer to our question: Our value lies in the fact that we are loved by God. We are loved not because we are worthy of love but because God is love (1 John 4:8Close1 John 4:8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). Now, his Spirit stands ready to help us experience and share his transforming love with the world. 

Yesterday was Pentecost. Held fifty days after Easter each year, the Sunday marks the day God’s Spirit filled God’s people in Jerusalem, igniting the mightiest spiritual movement the world has ever seen (Acts 2:0CloseActs 2:0 OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). If we will do what the first Christians did, we will experience what they experienced. 

First, Meet with God in Prayer. 

Jesus commanded the disciples before his ascension to “wait for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4CloseActs 1:4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ), which was that “you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (v. 5). So they “were devoting themselves to prayer” (v. 14) when “the day of Pentecost arrived” (Acts 2:1CloseActs 2:1 On the day of Pentecost* all the believers were meeting together in one place. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). Like them, we need to begin each day by meeting with our Lord in prayer and worship. 

Second, receive the power and cleansing of God. 

As they prayed, they heard “a sound like a mighty rushing wind” that “filled the entire house where they were sitting” (v. 2). Then “divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each of them” (v. 3). The wind pointed to the breath of God that gives us physical life (cf.Genesis 2:7CloseGenesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). The “tongues of fire” pointed to the cleansing grace of God (cf.Isaiah 6:5-7CloseIsaiah 6:5-7 Then I said, "It's all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven's Armies." Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, "See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven." OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) that purifies our souls. 

To experience this “wind” and “fire” today, we ask God to reveal any sins in our lives, then we confess all that comes to our thoughts and we claim his forgiving grace (1 John 1:9Close1 John 1:9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). This opens the pathway for God’s Holy Spirit to empower God’s holy people. 

Third, Submit to the Control of the Spirit. 

The narrative in Acts 2 continues: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (v. 4a). To be “filled” means to be controlled and empowered (cf.Ephesians 5:18CloseEphesians 5:18 Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). Like the first Christians, we need to surrender our lives daily and hourly to the control and leading of God’s Spirit. 

Fourth, serve in the power of God. 

The first Christians immediately “began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4CloseActs 2:4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages,* as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) b). These were the “tongues” or languages of people gathered in Jerusalem for Passover and Pentecost (Acts 2:5-12CloseActs 2:5-12 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They were completely amazed. "How can this be?" they exclaimed. "These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!" They stood there amazed and perplexed. "What can this mean?" they asked each other. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). In the miraculous power of God’s Spirit, God’s people began sharing God’s love. Then Peter proclaimed the gospel (Acts 2:14-36CloseActs 2:14-36 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, "Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o'clock in the morning is much too early for that. No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: `In the last days,' God says,  `I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy.  Your young men will see visions,  and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit  even on my servants—men and women alike—  and they will prophesy. And I will cause wonders in the heavens above  and signs on the earth below—  blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become dark,  and the moon will turn blood red  before that great and glorious day of the LORD arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD  will be saved.'* "People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene* by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. King David said this about him:`I see that the LORD is always with me.  I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad,  and my tongue shouts his praises!  My body rests in hope. For you will not leave my soul among the dead*  or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life,  and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.'* "Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn't referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David's own descendants would sit on his throne. David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah's resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave. "God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God's right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said,`The LORD said to my Lord,  "Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies,  making them a footstool under your feet."'* "So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!" OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) and “there were added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41CloseActs 2:41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). 

Nowhere does the Bible say how it feels to be filled with God’s Spirit. This is a step of faith we take, knowing that God will lead and use us in ways that most effectively advance his kingdom. 

“A car is made to run on petrol” 

You and I were created by God’s design to be empowered by God’s Spirit. In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis notes: “God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on himself. He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there.” 

What “fuel” will you choose for your soul today? 

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Dr. Jim Denison is the founder of the Denison Forum. His Daily Article reaches 1.5 million people monthly with subscribers in 226 countries, and exists to engage contemporary culture with biblical truth. To subscribe to his Daily Article, go to DenisonForum.org.