Psalms 139: 13 - 16 NKJV
One of the biggest obstacles that we will ever come across is our own self worth. Be it what others tell us or what we perceive it to be, what we think of ourselves goes a long way in deciding how it is we live our lives. Of course, there are also right and wrong messages that we will always associate with who it is we really are inside. If we see ourselves as being a failure, then we may very well act and be that failure. However, if we see ourselves as having value, then we will damned sure live our lives in a different way. I've experienced both sides of this spectrum, and I know which side I prefer to stay on. There was a time when my own self worth depended on how much money I could muster up to get someone to like me. Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous, but that was the addiction which I was feeding into. One of the best questions which we can all ask of ourselves is...who am I? Am I simply a piece of flesh making my way on the earth until the day comes when I become, yet again, dust. Indeed, there are those among us who believe such rot. Being unenlightened as they are, I choose not to follow that path any longer. My worth is not decided upon what others think or feel about me. I also know that my worth is far greater than even I can see myself. Now, I'm not bragging, I just know who it is that I truly am inside. I didn't get this revelation from some self help book or video. No, that revelation which I received I received from God. After all, as the old saying goes, God does not make garbage. You might disagree, but then you probably never appreciated the full beauty of His creation either. Indeed, we were ALL created in our Lords image. We are, in fact, our Lord in flesh form. I know that this might be a big horse pill for some to swallow, but there is plenty of evidence that what I'm telling you is true. Yes, we are all created in His image {Genesis 2:7}. Not only that, it is Christ Jesus who lives through us today {Galatians 2:20}. How can someone so fearfully and wonderfully made be worth only what others tell him he is? How can anyone carrying the indwelling Spirit of Christ within them be worth only their next drop of alcohol or hit of cocaine? You can see now how we have allowed our own sense of value to become bastardized by our own surroundings. I was there, I get it. How is it that I can get the alcoholic to see who he truly is? How is it that I can convince a drug addict that she is worth so much more than what she is shooting into her arm? Well, it's not my own words that will bring about that change, but the revelation of our heavenly Father. It is God who, in their darkest moment, will whisper into their hearts that they are worth so much more.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
1 Corinthians 6: 19 - 20 NKJV
I've never been in the military, but I've been around my share of veterans in my time. While I honor and respect those who have served, I have always taken issue with the part of the military training process that strips us of who we are. This is illustrated in the induction process, where numerous drill instructors began the process by telling each recruit just how worthless they are. The thing is, these young men are useless...in their current state to whatever branch of service they are entering. In order for these young men to become fighting soldiers they need to be broken down and built back up into what the military needs them to be. Does this change who it is that they really are? No, only who they're TOLD they are. Of course, if you tell someone something often enough, they will more than likely come to accept it as being true. If a father tells his son that he's a worthless piece of crap often enough, how do you think the boy is going to grow up? If a alcoholic knows nothing of self worth more than alcohol, that is how he will see himself. This isn't rocket science, just a lesson in the power of positive thoughts. There is something to be said of the man who stands in front of the mirror each day KNOWING who he really is inside. Not listening to the words of chaos he hears from those around him, but knowing in his heart that God has created and loved him. God doesn't make garbage! It was never our Lords intention to create alcoholics and drug addicts. No, this was our intent. Somewhere along the way, I got lost in the belief that I was worth only what I paid someone to like me. That was NEVER Gods plan for me. Somewhere along the way, some of you got lost in believing that your worth was defined by your addiction. Nothing could be further from the truth. You were fearfully and wonderfully created by our heavenly Father that He would live through you. Indeed, the world will never see God...but through you.
"God has a hard on for marines because we kill everything we see! He plays His games, we play ours! To show our appreciation for so much power, we keep heaven packed with fresh souls! God was here before the Marine Corps! So you can give your heart to Jesus, but your ass belongs to the Corps!"
-Gunnery Sargent Hartman-
~Scott~
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