Christianity and Self-Worth
The Bible presents a high view of the worth of each individual person. This view is two-fold. First, there is the fact of a person’s being made in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” This teaching is reaffirmed in several places in the Bible such as in Genesis 9:6 and James 3:9. Second, that value is reaffirmed in the price that God paid for each person’s life in the blood of Christ. Peter wrote, “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19). Paul wrote, “for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20). Our worth is independent of any accomplishments that we may make in this life because it is not dependent upon us and our actions. Our value is not measurable in our productivity or goodness. Jesus made it clear that each person is worth more than the whole of the world when He said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). This two-fold teaching of self-worth (being made in God’s image, and being bought by the blood of Christ) shows that each person’s worth is equivalent to God’s worth, which is infinite. This means that each person’s worth is infinite also, since it is defined by God and His Son, Jesus.