The Soul Felt Its Worth
1 John 4:9-11
Intro
One of my favorite Christmas carols is O Holy Night. Every Christmas season I would hear it and at
times sing it. But there was one particular time that the third and fourth lines of the first verse hit me
with deep meaning. It says, “Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared, and the
soul felt its worth…” That fourth line resonated deep in my heart. I began to reflect more and more
on what it really meant. So here are some of my observations on “the soul felt its worth.”
People come down on themselves
-First of all people come down on themselves.
-Poor self-image.
-Lack of self worth.
-Negative or wrong concept of self.
-People who have never truly been loved and cared for.
-People who are lonely and feel rejected.
-People say, “I’m no good, I can’t do anything right, Nobody loves me.”
Some Factors That Erode Self Worth
We live in an increasingly depersonalized society. It seems to me that more and more we are just a
number on a long list with other numbers. Also there are things being taught and conveyed to us
that are destroying our self worth. I would like to touch on at least 6 factors that are eroding our self
worth.
1/ Atheistic Evolution
-Atheistic evolution teaches that we are just a random process and that we have evolved from some
slime in the pond.
-Evolution says that humans are only a biological organism and that we have no soul or spirit.
-Isn’t that very fatalistic? It devalues self worth.
-What is there to look forward to when we die?
2/ Secular Philosophy
Philosophers are ever searching for the meaning of life. They are forever trying to define truth and
reality but they are still searching. Philosophy comes short in giving humanity meaning and purpose
because there are so many views.
Here are a few quotes from some philosophers who were facing death in despair and hopelessness.
Thomas Paine
He was the leading atheistic writer in the States who wrote the book The Age of Reason. He said on
his death bed: “I would give worlds if I had them, that The Age of Reason had never been published.
O Lord, help me! Christ, help me!... No, don't leave; stay with me! Send even a child to stay with
me; for I am on the edge of Hell here alone. If ever the Devil had an agent, I have been that one.”
Voltaire
He was the most influential French atheist of Europe in his day, cried out with his dying breath: "Oh
Christ!" "O Lord Jesus I must die - abandoned by God and men." His condition had become so
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frightful at the time of his death that his associates left his bedside. His nurse said repeatedly, "For
all the wealth of Europe I would never see another infidel die!"
Sad to say that atheistic philosophy does not hold the answers to the meaning of life and self worth.
3/ Sexual Immorality
-The sexual revolution of the 60’s said any goes. It made a tremendous impact on our social life.
-Many children are born outside of a committed relationship of marriage; some feel they were an
accident, a mistake, and were unwanted.
They feel they were a mistake and an inconvenience. How does that make one feel any worth or
value?
4/ Abortion
-What abortion really teaches is that we are just an embryonic tissue, an inconvenience.
-There is no sanctity of life; therefore there is no value given to conception and pregnancy. Humans
are not valuable they are just biological organisms that can be terminated. That’s depressing.
5/ Dysfunctional Families
-Parents have a powerful influence on their children.
-Abusive parent or parents who show no love and care.
-Lack of affection in the home and positive character building.
-The breakdown of the home is eroding self worth.
6/ Post-modern Mindset
-There are no absolutes, no absolute truth.
-You can do what feels good and right in your own sight.
-Without moral and ethical guidelines we destroy ourselves.
-We cannot deny the fact that we are moral and spiritual creatures.
Canadian author Douglas Coupland wrote a book called, Life After God. Coupland is the unofficial
voice of the Baby Buster generation (those born between 1985 & 2002). In this book, he calls his
contemporaries the first generation raised without religion and you get some sense in the book of
the aimlessness, purposelessness of the main character in the book. The main character can't escape
the guilt he feels. His wife leaves him because she falls out of love with him, and he can't bring
himself to love again. He feels trapped in a meaningless job. He puts up with shallow relationships.
He says, "I'm tired of compromising.” He complains that he doesn't feel life like he used to. After
358 pages Coupland ends his book with this starling conclusion. Let me read it to you:
“Now, here is my secret. I tell you with an openness of heart I doubt I will ever have again. So I
pray you're in a quiet room as you hear these words. My secret is that I need God, that I am sick
and can no longer make it alone. I need God to help me give, because I am no longer capable of
giving. To help me be kind, because I no longer seem capable of kindness. I need God to help
me love, as I seem beyond being able to love.”
That is an honest cry from the human heart.
We Are Important
-These factors and others have contributed to the depreciation of us human beings.
-How easy it is for people to forget their dignity and self-worth as human beings.
-We are important. Our souls are priceless in God's eyes. We are of infinite worth to God.
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-That is why Christ came to our planet, that’s why He went to the cross.
Christ said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
-Though it may be hard to understand, much less to believe, it is nonetheless true. If you were the
only one in the whole world that stood in need of help and saving, Jesus Christ would have come
for you alone. That's how precious your eternal soul is to him.
-From the manger to the cross God cries out, “You are of great worth to me. I value you and love
with an unfailing love.”
We are dearly loved by God
-God has lavished His love upon us.
“For God so-o-o-o-o loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in
Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
-The sending of God’s Son was both the revelation of His love and the very essence of love itself.
-Love: (Greek, Agape) is self-sacrifice, the seeking of another’s well being at one’s own cost.
When we are Loved
When we are truly loved by someone, these are the messages or feelings that are conveyed to us:
 I am precious, I am of great worth and value,
 I am important, I am wanted,
 I am cared for, I am the apple of God’s eye!
The by product of love is that it gives:
Meaning, security, self worth, happiness, joy, peace, understanding etc.
It makes you want to live!!
Love is Powerful!
We are of great worth to God
In Psalm 139:13-14 we read, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
In Matthew10:29-31 Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will
fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all
numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great
delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
What difference does it make that a Man called Jesus Christ nearly 2,000 years ago was born? What
difference does it really make? It makes all the difference in the world, in time and in eternity.
You must believe and receive Him!
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