Our worth is inherent. “Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved.” Being ‘the Beloved’ constitutes the core of our existence.” (Henri Nouwen, ‘Life of the Beloved’)

 

We live in a society which tells us that human beings do not have intrinsic worth. Some people are regarded as of more worth than others, and some people have no perceived worth at all. Our worth, in this society, is measured by all kinds of gauges, ranging from the ridiculous to what may appear to have substance. At different times we are judged by our beauty, our wealth, our achievements, our careers, or field of endeavour, our intelligence, our usefulness to others, and even our moral qualities as people.

 

We are judged, not for who we are, but for what we do. But the truth is, all people are of equal worth, no matter what. Worth is inherent. A good person is of no greater worth in the eyes of God than a bad one. Our dignity as human beings is inalienable. We cannot lose it – not through injury or illness, not through age or dependence, not through failure or incapacity of whatever kind, and not even through bad actions

 

Good actions are, of course, good! But if we feel worthless or not intrinsically worthy and act out of a desire to prove to ourselves to others, that we are somehow useful or worthwhile or worthy of love, that hole in our hearts, that sense of unworthiness, that self-rejection – will only grow larger. The only thing that can fill that hole is our own self-acceptance; our own belief that our worth will be the same no matter what we do. Our value will be no greater in success, no less in failure.

 

There is a humility in accepting this proposition, because it requires an admission that nothing I can ever do will make me better than anybody else. But believing this also takes genuine self-esteem, more than the vast majority of people can probably muster for themselves, because it requires accepting that you are already good enough, no better and no worse than any other human being.

 

I am loved and accepted – above all by God – just as I am!

Our sense of belonging, of acceptance, of being, or, as Henri Nouwen puts it, God’s ‘Beloved” is where we start from, and where we must continually return