I stopped in at a neighborhood garage sale and saw my friends’ belongings strewn across the drive-way. There were pictures quickly taken from the walls, decorative items that had graced bookshelves, and lots of kitchen items. Some of the items were clearly from another generation and I knew at once that my friends had kept them for decades as reminders of their childhood or their grandmother. They were selling their once-favored possessions at a discount, which clearly did not reflect their original value. It made me think, “Am I selling myself at a discount? What, really, is my worth?”
Consider your worth because God certainly does. We often overlook that our number one asset is our relationship with God. Think about ways you may be discounting your life.
- You discount your life! I remember when I was first told that I was living beneath my privilege. I was stunned, and then I realized that when you don’t know your own worth, you live life on the down low . . . real low!
- You discount your business! I reached out to Mia Redrick, a life coach, to discuss my business plans with her. When she asked me what I charged for my services, she replied, “Fred, you don’t have a business problem, you have a life problem.” I was like, “Dang!” One of her favorite nuggets of wisdom, “Your life informs your business.” Think that through.
- You discount your children! I met Vernessa Mitchell, the Christian and gospel recording artist, while I was living in Atlanta. She watched me date several women and nearly every Christmas I was convinced that I was going to get married. Finally, she sat me down and said, “Fred, every time you go out with one of those women, you are taking food away from your children.” At first, I didn’t get it. Then I realized that my real issue was that I didn’t know my own worth, and to be fair, I was trying to find someone to help me manage my life! But the real kicker was that I hadn’t considered how a marriage would affect my children because I hadn’t included them in my decision.
- You discount your legacy! How many remember the song, Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone?
Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone
Wherever he laid his hat was his home,
And when he died, all he left us was a LOAN!
Papa did not know his worth and value to himself or his family. What’s sad is a lot of people are too broke to live and CAN’T afford to die! I’m a big advocate of cremation and graveside burials in cases like this, but don’t let death be your legacy. Build your legacy while you’re alive and living a full life!
- You discount your witness! Who wants to serve your God when you’re too spiritually bankrupt to pay attention to your own witness? Why would I follow what you are preaching when I can’t stand what you’re practicing? Ecclesiastes 9:16 says, “. . . ‘Wisdom is better than strength.’ But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.”
- You discount YOU! I don’t know about you, but I like to be heard. I appreciate being listened to and respected. But here’s the deal: when you don’t value yourself, others will not value you. When you don’t see yourself as the person God made you to be, others will not see you in that light. There is a powerful scripture that bears this out, “. . . We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” Numbers 13:33.
- You discount your creativity! The brightest and most brilliant people in the world are “creatives!” These individuals find a way to innovate and create. Your ideas and thoughts when acted upon or put in writing is the creation of intellectual property. (What is intellectual property? It is a work or invention that is the result of creativity, such as a manuscript, notes, written speeches, a blog or a design to which one has rights and for which one may apply for copyright, patent or trademark protection.) You will not create intellectual property if you don’t value creativity.
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