How much are you worth? Can you really quantify your value to…

Your job?

Your family?

Your church?

Your relationships?

Your world?

God has created us and gifted all wonderfully and uniquely. No one else can be as good at being you than you!

Psalm 139:13-14 (NKJV)

¹³ For You formed my inward parts;
You ^[a]covered me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I will praise You, for ^[b]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.

It’s our responsibility to recognize, nurture and perfect what God has placed inside of us. And to use it not only to sustain our lives, but to build God’s kingdom and make the world a better place.

Luke 12:48  (NKJV)

⁴⁸ But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

God has created us all with great value!

So much so, that no one should ever be able to pay us what we’re worth.

How much money do you make? What’s your salary? What’s your hourly wage?

Do you feel that’s ALL your worth?

Do you feel that’s ALL you bring to the table?

We should all be irreplaceable…

Not only in our job descriptions but also in the intangibles. There should be a void any time we leave a workplace, relationship, church etc.

Your energy, positivity, love…your very presence should be missed. You should bring those things that can’t be trained or taught….

Those things that go beyond experience, such as being the person everyone looks to in a crisis.

Even if they can replace YOU, they should never be able to replace WHAT YOU DO!

Anytime you feel you aren’t bringing enough to the table…YOU AREN’T.

We’re placed here to be God’s representatives in every environment and relationship we occupy. God blesses us to bring glory to God through the anointing on our lives, the gifts He’s giving us and the seeds we sow.

And that’s priceless.

Now, are you being underpaid?

BE BLESSTIFIED!

I think we all want to be valued as a person. In our families…In our relationships…In our professional life…In our spiritual life…We all want to be valued.

We make room for what and who brings value to our lives. No one, and I mean no one avoids anyone who brings value to their lives. And, the greatest value is in the intangible things that money can’t buy. I like to call them intangible tangibles. You can’t see them, but they are so real.

But, I’m not going to talk about the typical intagibles that commonly first come to mind…you know love, joy etc. etc.

I’m talking about 3 intangibles that when you possess these abilities, people will always value you. And they all spring from a spiritual gift…exhortation!

Romans 12:6-8 (NKJV)

⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; ⁷ or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; ⁸ he who EXHORTS, in EXHORTATION; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

A good strong exhortation encourages and strengthens.

People with these attributes can even tend to be ‘used’, but no one uses anyone that they don’t value.

You will always be valued if you can ENCOURAGE, INSPIRE AND ENTERTAIN…

ENCOURAGE…

Everyone needs encouragement. The fact is, that not only do we need encouragement when we are down, but we also need encouragement when we are up. Think of the people in your life who are encouraging to you. Most of the time it’s the same person or people with whom you seek out to share both your good and bad news. It’s the one with whom you want to share your good days, and the one you know you can depend on to help you want to go on during your bad days. Now think of the people who you can depend on to discourage you. Who do you value more in your life?

INSPIRE…

Who inspires you? What inspires you? Who makes you want to be a better person? Who makes you want to pursue your purpose? Who makes you want to accomplish the impossible? Is it a family member? Is it a former teacher?  Is it a great leader? Is it someone that you have seen endure incredible odds? Is it someone who came from what we call ‘nothing’ to achieve greatness? That’s why we love heroes because they inspire us. Inspiration is so powerful that even evil people are inspired by other evil people. When you inspire people, they will want to be around you on their best day and worst day.

ENTERTAIN…

Even though we aren’t all entertained in the same way, everyone loves to be entertained. In this harsh world, we all need temporary breaks from reality to refresh ourselves.  Everyone loves being around someone who entertains them. It may be someone who always has an interesting story. It may be a gifted musician, singer, poet, artist or author. It may be someone who is very engaging to talk to…it may be someone who always makes us laugh and smile. I believe that comedy is an aspect of the gift of exhortation…what’s more encouraging than a good laugh? (Read this…ARE YOU A MINISTER OF LAUGHTER?

Proverbs 17:22 (NKJV)

²² A merry heart does good, like medicine,^[a]
But a broken spirit dries the bones.

Think about how David found favor with Saul because he was a skilled musician…

1 Samuel 16:23 (NKJV)

²³ And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.

Everyone love being around someone who makes them laugh. Someone who makes them feel better. Nothing lifts one out of despair like a well-timed laugh. If you have the ability to entertain…sing, dance, speak, act, are you athletic…whatever makes the heart feel lighter…whatever helps us escape from reality, you will be valued.

These gifts are to be used to be a blessing to one another and bring glory to the God of our salvation.

So, how has God blessed you to encourage, inspire or entertain? Know your gifts because that’s where others will find your value.

BE BLESSTIFIED!