How Much Is Your Life Worth?

I am hooked on this BlogThings site--well, I'm hooked on all things BLOG--but my latest entertainment has been to take one of these tests & then maybe put it on my blog. I enjoyed taking the intelligence test (not to see how much intelligence I have but to see what "type" of intelligence I have). The results are in my last post, near the bottom. [FYI, the other 2 people who took it told me their results were the same; but I know that not everyone gets the same answer because the first time I saw it on someone else's blog, the results were different]

I also took the "What Does Your SAT Score Mean?" test, & the results were quite exciting: my SAT score of 1370 was higher than that of Howard Stern, George W. Bush (I should run for president!!), Al Gore (then again, maybe not), but lower than Bill Gates, Natalie Portman & David Duchovny (who knew that alien chasers were so smart?!). My SAT score also means my IQ level is in the 130-140 range (according to this site, mind you), and that the ACT equivalent was 31 (though I can't remember what it actually was when I took it TEN whole years ago, that sounds about right).
I haven't yet but look forward to taking the Redneck & Driving tests, which I told you about in my last post. Don't hold your breath, I'll get to it.

I did a double-take when I came to "How Much Is Your Life Worth?" I thought, yeah, let's see! So here are the results:

Your Life Is Worth...

$805,500

Whew! Sounds like a lot, but that $1,000,000 life insurance policy might be a good deal after all!

The truth is, there are many ways to calculate what your life is worth, but I initially would not have thought about it in monetary terms, despite my history with math. Maybe that's because of my history with God's Word. One way to look at it (in my opinion) is that the sacrifice of the Lamb of God is what gives my life its worth. That cost is far more than I could ever repay. Thank you, God, that I don't have to! The grace that God extends to me daily covers over whatever worthlessness I created in myself. One of my Dad's favorite quotes is:

The fundamental problem with most of us is not deficient self-esteem but inadequate divine-esteem. (Daniel Block)

Every time I read that, I think "Right on! I know that's true of me!!" When I try to calculate what I am worth, I come up empty. I have issues with self-esteem. And actually, according to Daniel Block & I am apt to agree, my focus on self-esteem IS the problem. I am looking to myself & what I can contribute to society, to my household, to the church; instead I need to look & see what God can do through me to contribute to society, to my household, to the church. When I compare myself to others, I am immediately overwhelmed with all the things about myself I'd change so I could be more like so-&-so or less like another so-&-so. Well, you know what? God can work though me and in spite of me to accomplish the good He will accomplish. When my focus is less on myself and what I want to change the focus is instead on God and what He would change. A favorite quote of mine is from The Purpose-Driven Life:

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less. (Rick Warren)

Again, when thoughts of myself are not at the forefront of my mind, then thoughts of God and His work take over. I'm not thinking less of myself in those instances, I'm thinking instead of my God and Savior and I don't worry about my body or my shortcomings as a human being.

Here's what I'm going to try to do to work on my divine-esteem and maybe this will help you too. Or maybe you have a good handle on this and can give the rest of us some suggestions.

*I am going to try to journal about my day, & home (hone?) in on the times or situations of each day that I am most likely to be distracted with thoughts of myself which almost always end up negative (i.e., I know when I go into the bathroom, I am going to look in the mirror, and then I will proceed to pick out the things about my body I wish could change. That's not a good time of the day for me)
*When I figure out what situations in my daily life I am likely to focus on self (i.e., being in the bathroom), I can devise a plan to stay away from those situations (while not going to the bathroom ever again sounds like a good plan to me, it's not that realistic so instead I am going to try to coach myself before I go in there not to look in the mirror, maybe I won't even turn on the light so it won't be so easy to spot my flaws)
*What else can I do since draping something over the mirror won't help when I need to put my makeup on in the morning? (i.e., Pray before going into the bathrooom; carry a verse with me to read & dissect & think about)

So I chose a somewhat simplified situation to get you thinking. I hope this will at least generate a discussion that can help us to encourage each other. I don't know how much guys are affected by the sort of things girls are, but I know that I have several friends who've complained of the "blahs" lately, and--believe me--I've been there a lot too! Whatever ways we can find to focus on God instead of on self are going to be helpful in the fight against the "blahs" (when did the "blues" change to the "blahs" by the way??). So please share your ideas!!

For 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)

And anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:38,39)

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment . . . Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. (1 Peter 3:3,4)

And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)