#358: What Are You Worth?

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another." Charles Dickens

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Have you ever thought of what you are worth?

There are many answers, aren't there?

At work, you are worth xxx amount of money in wages. As a customer to a business you are worth perhaps several hundred dollars a year. To your family you are priceless.

Our worth changes with our situation.

Suppose you are able to save someone having a heart attack by performing CPR? How valuable are you to them and their family and friends? Or suppose you tutor adults and teach them to read. What are your time and talents worth that opened their eyes to a whole world of information?

What about the child you nurse as a baby, changing diapers, teaching how to roller skate and ride a bike and later, as they age, to teach them right from wrong and to set in them moral standards. What is that worth?

Often it seems we sell ourselves short. We feel unworthy and frequently unwanted. We do not feel as if anyone could like us or would want to be around us.

But we would be wrong.

That person you help by jumping their stalled car may be on their way to an interview for a job after being out of work for a year or two. Getting that job would change their life drastically. What would your time to connect and disconnect jumper cables be worth then?

To a friend hurting financially, that $20 or $50 gift card to a grocery store may make the difference in whether they and their family have food to eat. What is that $20 or $50 truly worth under those circumstances?

We need to understand that our worth is not based on the material possessions we may have, but rather lies in the contributions we make to others. We must never sell ourselves short. We must believe that we will never be able to put a price tag on the aid and comfort we offer to another person.

Think quietly for a few moments then ask yourself, "What am I worth?"

You may be surprised at the answer.