You don’t even have to be an avid Dodger fan to have likely heard about the largest contract in baseball history recently offered to and accepted by Shohei Ohtani. Its overall value is $700 million. Now, there have certainly been tons of analytics applied to ascertain his value or worth to the organization. Overall, not bad for being able to hit and throw a baseball pretty well.
However, it might give one pause to stop and think about our individual worth in the world we live in when we compare our relatively meager incomes with those of Mr. Ohtani. It becomes tempting, in our minds, to think we don’t measure up. But that isn’t consistent with what the Bible says.
Our value to God is clearly stated in John 3:16, which says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life”. This definitely serves to “level the playing field” in terms of assessing our significance. We are so valuable to God that we are worth the premium price tag that it cost Jesus to ransom us from our sins.
If we, as experienced adults, sometimes wrestle with a sense of worth, I know that our students must struggle with it to an even greater extent. They are so bombarded with ideas and images of what constitutes a “worthwhile” person, and they are challenged daily with how they measure up to the world’s hopelessly high standards. They need every ounce of help they can get from us to maintain their sense of self-worth by reminding them that their purpose doesn’t come from their ability to perform on a sports field, a stage, or around a conference table–it comes from God!
-Mr. Carpenter