Worth and Dignity

When we hear the words “worth” and “dignity” when applied to people we should remember that everyone has been created by God and made in His image.  That means that each person has intrinsic value and God views them as having great worth.  Since God has such a high view of people, we should view them the same way.  These two concepts should be more than nice-sounding words to us.  They should be backed up by the actions we take that show that people are extremely important.

“Worth” has to do with the great value people have because they are the handiwork of God.  “Dignity” has to do with honor, esteem, and respect.  Both worth and dignity are terms that should be used to emphasize that every individual has an essential right to be highly valued, honorably respected, and sensitively treated.

The Bible affirms the worth and dignity of everyone when it says, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).  Notice several aspects of this verse.

1. “God” - The God of the Universe conceived, designed, and formed people exactly the way He wanted them to be.
2. “Workmanship” - God’s craftsmanship has been exhibited with divine skill that indicates his creation is the very best possible work that could ever be done.
3. “In Christ Jesus” - The image in which we have been created is that of Jesus Christ, God's one and only son.
4. “To do good works” - The purpose individuals need is to be involved in excellent good works – the very best that we can possibly do.
5. “Prepared in advance” - The good works we are to accomplish have been planned for us by God Himself and take place though us living a godly life.

The principles of fairness, justice and honorable treatment are meant for everyone.  In scripture, the Apostle Paul reminds us that this principle needs to be broadly applied to each person when he said, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.” (Galatians 6:10).  How do you view other people?  Do you see them as individuals having great worth and dignity and worthy of great respect according to God’s standards?  Ephesians 2:10 (see above) should give us the motivation to make worth and dignity top priority as we interact with people.