From Where Does Value Come?

By Jesse Albrecht -
"I have long believed human beings have value. As a police officer, the protection of human life is my highest priority. Police officers are often dispatched to “welfare checks.” These calls come in a variety of forms and essentially boil down to people asking the police to check on someone to make sure they are okay. For example, we might receive a call from someone who lives in another state who hasn’t heard from their grandmother in a while. In response, we will go out to the grandmother’s house to make sure they are okay or see if they need help.

 What is it that makes human life so valuable? Where does our value come from? Are we like the comic books I collect? Comic books get their value from the perception people have of them. Does our value come from those around us? I hope it doesn’t. If our value comes from the way the people or culture around us view us, then we might end up like the comic books I’m looking for, worth more in one shop or place and worth less in another.

 But if value does not come from those around us, where does it come from? I’ve heard some people say that they can create their own sense of meaning or value. While it sounds great from a self-esteem standpoint, I think we can all admit to times, maybe many times, when we’ve felt personal doubt about ourselves and our value.

 Just as the comic book with the “10 cent” cover price does not decide its own current value, we cannot determine our own. There appears to be nothing in our opinion of ourselves that definitively sets our “price tag” or determines how we should be valued by others.

 God, as He is described by the Bible, has the ability to ground our value in his unchanging, holy nature. Theism offers an opportunity to ground human value objectively. God’s assignment of value transcends our personal opinions, temporary feelings or responses from friends and family. Just as I decide the value a comic book has to me, God has decided how much value his creation has to Him.

 In Matthew 10:29-31 Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”

 Just as importantly, God is not fickle, as I often am. The Bible teaches that God is unchanging, the same today as he was last year. His opinion of your value will not change."

J. Warner Wallace, From Where Does Value Come?

Comments

Joseph Hinman (Metacrock) said…
Hey Jesse that's a nice post.I agree with your overall point. Eventually human value is rooted in our understanding of the divine.

Comic book with 10 cent cover price? you must like old comics, they haven't been that price since I was about 7. Now it's $5.00 dollar price.
1/02/2020 11:07:00 PM
Jesse Albrecht said…
Yes, I agree that J. Warner Wallace has made a good point. Human dignity finds an objective basis in a Christian worldview.

Speaking of comics, I do own a handful of older ones that are about figures such as Thor.
1/02/2020 11:33:00 PM
Joseph Hinman (Metacrock) said…
I collect gold-brone age. I love comics. mostly I read DC but I also do Charlton, Tower (Thunder Agents) and Archie adventure (Crusaders the fly, jaguar).
1/02/2020 11:47:00 PM
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