Our worthiness does not equate to our worth as an individual
I often get the impression that people feel their self-worth is low because they don’t live perfect, sin-free lives. They feel Heavenly Father can’t possibly love them more than somebody else who may be perceived as being on a holier path.
One of our church leaders once said, “We may sin and lose some of our worthiness, but we will never be worthless.”
Our worthiness is just a current state of being. If we sin, we have been given the gift of repentance to improve our state of worthiness and to become redeemed through Jesus Christ. Worthiness, however, is not the same as our worth. Those are two separate things. A lot of people equate their worth to the shape of their worthiness. But our worthiness does not equate to our worth as an individual.
The worth of souls is great in the eyes of the Lord. The scriptures provide a clue to that. Psalms 49:8 tells us the redemption of our souls is precious. God loves us because we are His children, and we are worth the world to Him. Luke 9:56 says Jesus did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. I love that one because it says Jesus Christ didn’t come to earth to make sure we would all be punished for our sins. Instead, He came so He would be punished for us. There is no need to further punish ourselves.
John 3:16 says God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son in the flesh to be punished and die for us. We are His children. He loves us and wants us to be happy. That’s why God created the Plan of Happiness. That’s why the Atonement exists. He gave us a Savior with a plan and a path to redemption. All of this is proof of how much we are truly worth.
The feelings of joy when you know your true worth, not the perception of what you think of yourself nor what you feel from others, but feelings of joy coming from the Spirit is more than amazing. We are not, nor ever will be worthless.
Robert King is the Cambridge Branch President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Worthiness is a current state of being
