The value standards established by our communities has been a distortion in the minds of people concerning their personal worth. Their value has been demeaned. They have seen themselves in the light of natural, outward things as being either valuable or not valuable.
For instance, beauty or appearance on the outside has been a basis for judgement. So we hear that, "This person is valuable, because of his/her outward appearance." On the other hand, "This person is not valuable, because of his/her appearance."
Education is also an area which has been used to judge a person's value. "This person is valuable because of his/her education. This person doesn't know as much, so he's not as valuable."
Talent is another area also used to judge a person's value. Due to the ability of some people to play an instrument, to sing, to play sports, or to do something in a business sense, and they are considered valuable, while others who may not have the same talent aren't considered as valuable.
People with great personalities are called valuable, while others who may not be able to clearly express what they feel are often degraded. Achievements and success have caused some people to be elevated as valuable, while others who haven't achieved or succeeded on the same level are considered of less value.
Some people exalt a nationality because they're born in a certain nation. They're considered of greater worth than a person born in a less populous nation. Also people of a certain color are exalted, while people of another color are demeaned.
Parents at times have honored and lavished love on one child because they were intelligent and achieved, while ignoring another child who was not as bright and not as successful in certain disciplines as athletics, music, or in other endeavors. Without being aware of it, parents have exalted one child and put down another.
Perhaps your life has been affected because of a distorted value system either by your parents or in peers. The value system in our community has created internal turmoil in many people. Putdowns and terrible things have happened because of distorted values. People who compare themselves to the world's value system often fall into terrible insecurities. They're frustrated, tormented, and spiritually stunted because they are intimidated from the outside.
Therefore, like a little tree that's tied at the roots, they never grow and expand because they see themselves in the light of how the world values them. When this process continues, it not only goes into insecurity, but it also leads to depression and discouragement. The way people view themselves is part of the poverty throughout the world.
If you don't know your worth in God, then you don't have hope. Without hope, there's no motivation. And without motivation, you'll live under whatever circumstances choose to oppress you, whether it's drugs, alcohol, poverty, depression, discouragement, self-pity etc. Others may go beyond depression into suicidal tendencies. Most people who have taken their life have been affected by the world's value system. Their inferiority feelings were tremendous because the putdowns from society made them feel small and embarrassed. If people don't measure up, the ultimate end of rejection and depression for many is suicide. They have been judged, either externally or by their own life, in seeing themselves as of no value and, therefore, they think, "What's the use of living?" Or because someone has judged them that way, they take their life to get back at someone or to prove that they were somebody. What a way of thinking that you prove you're someone by taking your own life, but when a person gets into this thought pattern, many horrible things happen. If you're hung up on the world's value system, you'll never become what you're destined to be as an individual, and the army of God, of which you are a part, will never become what it's supposed to be.
It is time to accept God's value of your life and begin to say, "I am valuable."