YOU ARE A PRINCE FROM THE DAY OF YOUR BIRTH

You are smart, good looking and you have lots of cool things. You have sway among your peers and can do so much with what God gave you. And most importantly people look up to you and think you are cool.

Unfortunately none of that matters much. You are important in a much deeper and lasting way. If your self-esteem is built on these sandy beeches your castle will eventually fall for they will all fail you. They are air that inflates the balloon that ever so slowly (or in some cases quickly) escapes out into the atmosphere and dissipates.

My Dad is in a nursing home now. He is healthy as a horse. As a matter of fact he got into a fight with another gentleman recently. When the nursing home called they said, “If it is any consolation, your father took him down.” His problem is his memory. Or lack of it.

It is getting progressively worse. This past week he asked me if he had a son named John. I raised my hand. “You?” he asked with some surprise. “Yep.” “Is there another one?” he asked, “I could have sworn there was another one.” Ah well . . . two sons named John. That would be interesting.

So he has no memory anymore and can no longer figure out the simplest of tasks. Once far more fit than me or any of my friends he is now putting on weight and the effects of being on this earth for almost 90 years are showing on him. He has gone through most of his estate to pay for his care. His peers still drop by to see him but he barely remembers them and no longer is cock of the walk.

If we were to rate his dignity and worth by worldly standards I am afraid there would be people who would scratch their heads and say, “Why bother?” In fact they do. Actually persons who do not meet at least some of the above criteria are in general considered less than other human beings and quite often mistreated or ignored and too often just plane done way with.

Thus people who are very ill, or very old, or noticeably mentally or physically challenged, or who committed a crime, or who are very poor, or who are our enemy, or unwanted in the womb, or are from the latest ethnic background deemed unfashionable, being a bother and seemingly cumbersome are subtly eased out of lime light to drift blissfully into oblivion from our sense of those deserving absolute justice.

Fortunately these are not the criteria that give us dignity; that give us that worth upon which we should build our self-esteem. There is only one thing that makes you infinitely worthy of life, love, and respect, only one lasting thing that will never fade, one sure thing upon which we should anchor our self-esteem. And it is this: That the all-powerful God chose you to be His son or daughter. That He who does not need you chose you out of pure gift and love. From the womb before the dawn He begot you, yearns for you, waits for you. He was even willing to die for you and gives Himself to you fully still, everyday if you wish Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.

Of course if you have talent and abilities, use them. If God gave you looks and advantages employ them. If you have influence or resources don’t be ashamed of them. Use all these things for His glory. But though useful to us, to a great extent these are window dressings. There is nothing more important than taking worth in being a child of God.

And it will only be then that you realize the world is full of brothers and sisters (even if we don’t always get a long) and come to comprehend their great worth and dignity. For in the end we all go to the grave and power, looks, influence, and gold will all be left behind and we will stand before the throne and all that will matter is if we chose back our Father who chose us as His children. It is then that true worth and dignity will shine forth like the noonday sun. That is why my Dad is still worthy of care and love and respect. That is why you are.