The Importance of Self-Worth

It is 2:00, and we are headed to Manhattan Beach! Today’s car ride has been very enjoyable. The scenery has been interesting and the conversations fruitful. In my car, we had a discussion about “Tattoos on the Heart,” a book by Father Boyle, who started Homeboy Industries.

We talked about the following quote:  ”Behold the One beholding you, and smiling.” What does this mean? It is an incredibly powerful quote and should be reflected on. Colleen had an interesting take: this quotes means that since the Lord loves us infinitely, we have a responsibility, in return, to behold Him. Father Boyle states that “He cannot take His eyes off us.” Why should we take our eyes off of Him?

It also means that, although we are all flawed, God loves each of us unconditionally, simply because we are who we are; who he made us to be. There is importance in this for each one of us individually. If we don’t recognize this, then we cannot completely reach our potentials, and therefore, fulfill the will of God. It hinders the growth of our relationship with God and growth in all other areas in life. If we cannot understand our own worthiness, how can we get anywhere? What implications does this have for the poor and marginalized, who face obstacles several times a day, and whose odds are completely against them?

That led us to the next discussion topic: why is it so hard for us to believe that we are worthy of God’s unconditional and eternal love? We came with a few reasons. It might be because our pasts are full of sin and we are ashamed and assume the Lord is, as well. Or maybe, because we cannot fathom God’s love for what it really is, we assume that He doesn’t want to be close to us. Colleen pointed out that Christian music sometimes gives us the wrong idea about our self-worth and being “unworthy” of God.

What does this mean for our service trip? Father Boyle did a great job writing about the soul’s self-worth.  It is something that we all need, although some of us don’t receive a sense of self-worth as much as others. Building relationships and kinship with the people we will encounter is a huge part of our service trip,in order to promote feelings of self-worth that everyone has as children of God. “Kinship- not serving the other, but being one with the other.” Father Boyle points out that service is a start; it is just “the hallway to the Grand Ballroom.”

God bless and thanks for reading!

Laura Gillette, 12’