Your Worth Is Not in Your Achievemets.

Undoubtedly, many of us want to achieve or accomplish things in life. This, more so for believers, who have a great desire to live a life that is pleasing to God, and accomplish all they can for the sake of the kingdom.

Sometimes in the process we might experience a great deal of pressure, especially when we feel we are not meeting our set goals, and discontent when we perceive that we are not doing the best that we are capable of. The enormity of the task ahead at times can be overwhelming. People whose dreams are bigger than they can humanly handle, usually experience this state of being now and then. A word by Dr Charles Stanley seems very appropriate to note at this time that "No dream is too big for God" So whatever the case, be encouraged.

The major problem in my opinion, arises when we start equating our worth with our achievement or believing that our worth is based on the things we possess. Nothing could be farther from the truth. {...for man's life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance or that which is over and above his needs -Luke 12:15}.

These days the society which we live in, and sadly sometimes in our places of worship, make matters even worse. More often than not, people are regarded as important and valued mostly based on the things they have achieved or possess -it's the reality we all face.

Recently I got an e-devotional from Lakewood Church Ministries written by Pastor Joel Osteen . This mail actually triggered my thoughts concerning this issue. I have to confess at first, the words in the mail were hard for me to accept. I had to disabuse my mind with the word of God before I could come to terms with his message. He writes:

Few things compare to the pain and disappointment of not accomplishing what you set out to do.

It seems in our culture that our worth and happiness depend on success, wealth and fame.

When you live with this mindset, it's extremely hard to accept God's unconditional love. It can become difficult to be grateful for ALL of the wonderful things God's ALREADY done in your life. You find yourself continually thinking, "What's next?"

God's Word is filled with His plans and promises for your life. It teaches that your value DOES NOT come from your success. In God's economy you are not measured by what you've accomplished.

The key to achieving is to realise that what you achieve does not determine your worth.

So how then, do we know our worth as human beings? The answer lies on the cross! For the worth or "value of a thing is determined by the price paid".- Jeremy Pearson. The highest price that can ever be paid for anything was paid for us. The bible declares we are bought with a price {I Corinthians 6:20}. A price so high that it should at least give us an idea as to what we are worth to God and as human beings. Nothing can top that... no matter what we achieve or don't achieve, it can not add to or diminish our true worth.

With this truth in mind and hopefully settled in our spirits we become more confident... Knowing that we are the apples of the Lord's eyes {Psalm 17:8} Treasured, valued, significant and very.... important. Our focus is now primarily on God. And rightly so for "it's not about us, it's about Him!" Ecclesiastes 12:13 says " Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Our life should be about stewardship not the pursuit of self-fulfilment. Being a good steward doesn't involve money alone. It also includes taking proper care of and making the most of everything He has entrusted to us. this requires that we set properties and maintain balance in all we do.

Ultimately, love becomes our driving force. We aspire to do things with dedication, commitment, tenacity, unwavering zeal , making the most of our lives because of the love we have for God, and more importantly because of the love He has for us. This love should reflect in the way we treat others and take care of ourselves. We then carry ourselves differently, think differently, speak differently and do things with excellence because of who we are and whose we are "A child of the king". We no longer try to become "somebody" important because we know, we already are!

With such a drive, and a healthy state of mind {which is the mind of Christ-1Corinthians 2:16}, achieving great things for God is guaranteed and success in life becomes inevitable! Glory to God!