Perfect Worth vs Imperfect Works {Episode 15}

As Christians, we know that our worth is eternal, perfect and impossible to alter. But when our works don't measure up to this perfect worth, it causes us discomfort and sometimes guilt and shame.

Today we're getting clear on what it means to have perfect worth, why we feel such a discrepancy when we make mistakes and how this knowledge can help us become the courageous, powerful business owners we're meant to be.

Today we're talking about a concept that beautifully applies to both business and our faith. It's the concept of our worth versus our works, or our actions. As believers, we know that we're all children of God. That means that we are divine beings! We have an eternal soul that will never die and we are special in so many ways. It's no wonder that so many of Satan's temptations today focus on distracting us from our divine value. If he can get us to believe that we're not worthy or that we have to earn our worth, he's won.

Any time we begin something new: we get married, become parents, start a new job or business, etc, we must remind ourselves of our eternal value that is whole and impossible to diminish. Why do we need this reminder? Because anytime we try something new, we mess up, even in many areas where we have years of experience, such as business and relationships.

When we mess up, our brain panics and tries to tell us that something is wrong with us. "I'm a dummy", "I screwed up", "I'm not meant for this," etc. I love the analogy of the $100 bill. Did you know that you can easily replace bills of currency that have been damaged? In other words, it could be torn in half, and it would still be worth $100. I try to think of myself and my fellow humans the same way!

Even if we have experienced or been subject to actions that damaged us in some way, we are still perfectly whole and our eternal value is undiminished. Think of a young child with a serious genetic anomaly where the body and mind are obviously not in perfect working order. Does that mean this beautiful human being is somehow less worthy of life? Of course not, although sadly some people might think so.

We have the knowledge that every life is valuable and every person's worth is whole and divine. Nothing we do, don't do or that is done to us can change that. As I work on my business, this is so important to remember! My worth is not diminished if a project fails or a customer or client hates me or if I lose thousands of dollars. I'm still worthy and eternally valuable, no matter what I do. Isn't that an incredible gift? That we can hang out here on earth, trying new stuff, messing things up and never make ourselves less worthy of God's love.

In fact, if we truly understand our eternal and unchanging worth, don't you think we would want to change our works to reflect that? This is why Christians and other devout believers live such extraordinary, beautiful lives. They do so because they KNOW what they're worth and they want their works to reflect that. At this point it is important to remember that our works still matter.

Earth life isn't meant to be a wild free-for-all where we're running amok, Lord of the Flies style. God has given us some basic guidelines in order to create and maintain peace and harmony and give us our best chance at joy. Things like treating each other with love and charity, caring for those who need assistance, staying morally clean, and more. Bringing our works in keeping with that divine value is what will bring us the greatest happiness.

A word of caution: Satan can use our knowledge of our eternal value to tempt us to ignore God's commandments. Popular slogans like "you're perfect the way you are" can tempt us to never make any changes or improvements because hey, that coffee mug told me I was perfect! Our value is immense and cannot be diminished, but we are all imperfect and always will be. That's the point!

So when you work on your business and you mess up or fail or unwittingly cause some suffering, just know that it's all part of the deal, AND your worth has not been diminished. As I build my business, I try to regularly ask God how I can get my works more in keeping with my divine potential. And then I get busy and watch Him do His work through me!