Who am I, is a question that we constantly struggle with. How do we learn to see ourselves as God does, and therefore, learn to value our lives because of God’s purpose for us. The principle of sin that is present in this world, often tempts us to view ourselves as the world views us, but the reality is that we need to evaluate ourselves based on God’s standards not our own. We have already seen that because of the worlds definition of important we often view ourselves inaccurately. We now are reminded that because of those same standards, we often struggle with the things that may be true about ourselves that are not sinful. For example, my height was a constant thorn in my side as a high school student. I wanted to be over 6 foot tall (a mark I will add that I have never reached!), but it never happened. I let this shortfall define my value and my view of myself. I could not change that truth, but as a result I became a “lover of self … rather than a lover of God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-7) These accurate self-perceptions, really did not define my value to those around me, nor to God. In this struggle, we are valuing something too highly (for me it was height), or we are not valuing something God values as highly as we should (for me it was character). My friends, our value is not determined by anything external or internal. Our value is determined by God which makes it intrinsic within us! We are important to our world and the people around us, because God has created us for a purpose to impact the society that we live in. That may just be our family, friends, co-workers, and the people who intersect our lives on a day by day basis. Don’t view yourself, based on you self-imposed perspectives, because you are not God! Learn to see yourself as God sees you, and change your perspective based on the Word of God. I will begin sharing more things we can do to make those changes in thinking tomorrow.