Lesson 2: What are you worth?

Tim is an unhappy fifth-grader. He never gets smiling faces on his test papers at school. His classmates tell him that he is stupid, and he doesn't argue with them.

He thinks they are right. He has quit trying to do better. He is convinced that he is a failure and that he will always be a failure in everything he does.

The problem that Tim has is the same problem that many boys and girls have. Almost everyone, at one time or another, has this problem.

What is this problem which causes so much hurt and pain? It is the awful feeling that you are ugly and unattractive and that nobody likes you. It is the feeling that you are dumb and that other people are smarter than you. It is the feeling that you are not as good as other people. It is the feeling that you are worthless.

Why do we have these wrong feelings?

Why do we feel that we are not as good as other people, that we are dumb, that we are ugly and unattractive, and that others do not like us? These feelings come from accepting wrong thoughts.

Do you remember what we learned in the last lesson? It is this: Thinking wrong thoughts leads to wrong actions and wrong actions lead to wrong or unpleasant feelings.

Tim isn't actually dumb, but because he accepts the wrong thought that he is stupid and cannot do anything right, he does not study as he should. In fact, he doesn't even try. This causes him to make poor grades and then he feels bad about himself.

Tim feels bad about himself because he is accepting the wrong thought that he is stupid. Wrong thoughts lead to wrong actions and wrong feelings.

What does the world value most?

In our last lesson we saw that Satan uses his world-system to put wrong thoughts into people's minds. Satan wants us to think just like the world.

The world says that the most important things in life are: (1) having good looks, (2) being smart, and (3) having a lot of money. Let us think about these things.

Having good looks

The world says, "If you are good looking, you are worth a lot, but if you are not, you are not worth much and you probably won't be happy."

This is one of Satan's lies, but most people believe it. Many boys and girls dislike themselves and some even hate themselves because they do not like the way they look. They think, "If only I could look like so-and-so, I would be happy."

Most people think that being beautiful or handsome automatically makes a person happy, but this is not true. Some of the most unhappy people in the world are those who are the most beautiful and the most handsome.

God wants us to see that our worth as a person does not depend on our outward looks. Our body is just the "house" we live in. God says that what we are is far more important than the "house" we live in. The Bible says, "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." (I Samuel 16:7)

Being smart

The world says, "If you are smart, you are worth something;
if you are not, then you are not worth much." This is another of Satan's lies.

The truth is that your value or worth is not determined by how smart you are. Some young people have a hard time in school. They do not learn as easily as others. When they give a wrong answer in class, everyone laughs. This makes them feel dumb and inferior.

The more a person fails at something, the more discouraged he becomes. Gradually he comes to think that he is a complete failure. He may decide that he cannot do anything right and quit trying.

God never values a person by how smart he is. When the Lord Jesus chose His disciples, He chose plain, ordinary people.

Having money

Another way the world values people is by how much money they have. The world says, "If your family is rich, you are worth something, but if your family is poor, you are not worth much." This is another of Satan's lies. The truth is that money does not make a person happy, nor does money determine how much a person is worth.

When the Lord Jesus was in the world, He was very poor. He never had a home of His own. So far as we know, He never had any money of His own. Did this mean that He was not worth much? Of course not! He was the Son of God.

Change Your Thinking!

To change the way you feel about yourself, you must change your thinking. You must think right thoughts instead of wrong thoughts. Right thoughts lead to right actions and right feelings.

What are YOU worth?

What something is worth is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it. We may say that a certain horse is worth $500 because that is what someone is willing to pay for it.

 

We say that a certain automobile is worth $10,000 because that is what people are willing to pay or give for it.

 

What something is worth is determined by what people are willing to pay for it.

What are you and I worth? We are worth what God was willing to give for us. What did God give for us? He gave His Son for us. He did not give silver and gold for us; He gave His Son. This shows what we are worth to God.

''For God so loved [put your name here] that He gave His only Begotten Son." John 3:16

We are worth what God was willing to give for us. He gave His Son for us.

Satan likes to put wrong thoughts into our minds. He may try to get you to think that you are not worth anything. But what are you worth? You are worth what God was willing to give for you. He gave His Son for you! He gave Jesus to die on the cross so that you could belong to Him.

If you are a child of God, you truly belong to God because He bought you. What was the price He paid for you? The price was His own Son. The Bible says, "you are not your own, for you are bought with a price." (I Corinthians 6:19, 20)

Some suggestions.

Here are some suggestions that will help you overcome the feeling that you are worthless:

* Recognize that other people have the same feelings that you have.

When you see your classmates smiling and laughing, you may think that they never have feelings of worthlessness like you have, but this is not so. Everyone has these same feelings at one time or another.

* Make friends.

You do not have to be beautiful or smart or have a lot of money to make friends. The best way to have a good friend is to be a good friend.

Never make fun of another person. Respect others and accept them as they are. Let them know that they are important to you.

Show special attention to those who have difficulty making friends. They will love and appreciate you for this. Nothing helps your self-confidence like having good friends that love and appreciate you. This helps you to accept yourself.

* Learn to do something well.

One of the best ways to overcome feelings of worthlessness is to learn to do something well. Find something that you like to do and work at it!

Say to yourself, "I will learn how to play a musical instrument and I'll do whatever is necessary to be good at it."

Do you like a certain subject in school? Then try to be the best in your class on this subject. Of course, you must try to do well in the other subjects also.

Perhaps you like sports. Pick out the sport you enjoy most and try to be your very best in that sport. You can learn skills in sports, so practice, practice, practice!

Don't go around feeling sorry for yourself. Make the most of what you have. Develop a skill that will make you feel good about yourself.

* Face your problems honestly.

Get alone where you can be quiet and think. Begin thinking about all the things that you don't like about yourself.

Do you dress in a sloppy way? You can do something about this. Make sure that you take time to be clean and to look your best each day.

Are you overweight? You can do something about this. Cut out cookies and candy. Eat less bread and eat more vegetables and fruits. Get some exercise each day. Soon you will be looking better and feeling better about yourself.

Do you make poor grades because you do not study properly? You can do something about this also. Begin taking time to study as you should. Surprise your teacher and yourself!

 

"Unsolvable Problems"

You can do something about many of the problems you have, but there will be some problems which you cannot solve. Everyone has problems like this. The best thing to do with the problems which you cannot solve is to give them to the Lord Jesus. Tell Him all about them. You can pray a prayer like this:

The best thing to do with problems which you cannot solve is to give them to the Lord Jesus.

When you start to think about these problems again, remind yourself that you have turned them over to the Lord Jesus. Tell Him that you are trusting Him to handle them.

Remember that God loves and accepts you as you are and not because of your looks, your intelligence, or your money. God says to you, "Regardless of what the world may think about you, regardless of what your classmates may think about you, I LOVE YOU and I accept you." It is wonderful to know that you are loved and accepted by God Himself.

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(A story series written by Edna Menzies.)

As Miss Wilson called Wendy's name, Wendy felt glued to her seat. The room swam before her eyes as waves of happiness swept over her.

"Wendy," Miss Wilson said, "aren't you going to stand up?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Wilson," Wendy gasped, jumping to her feet. "I was so glad that I forgot to stand up."

The class laughed, and Miss Wilson smiled as she said, "I hope you will all appreciate what my friends are doing for you. And I will expect to hear a good report of each of you when camp is over."

When the class was dismissed, many of them crowded around the winners of the contest and teased them good-naturedly. They warned them about the wild animals in the bushes and told them to be careful in the water and not get drowned. Wendy noticed that Linda did not take part in the noisy chatter, but walked quickly away with her friend, Alma.

"I hope Linda won't still be mad at me when we get to camp," Wendy said to Susan as the two of them started toward Wendy's home.

"Don't worry," Susan assured her. "Linda won too, so she hasn't any reason to be jealous of you now." Susan gave a little skip of excitement as she changed the subject.

"Oh, Wendy, do you really think my mother will let me go to camp?"

"Yes, I do, Susan." Wendy's voice was serious. "We have been praying about it so long, you know. And then Mother told me this morning to bring you home with me and see if the things we found will fit you. She said if they did that she would take you home and ask your mother to let you go with me. My mother knows that camp wouldn't be the same to me without you, Susan."

The girls were happy to find that most of the clothes fit Susan nicely. Then Mrs. Tompson and Wendy took Susan home. After Mrs. Tompson and Mrs. Blake had a long talk together, Susan and Wendy were overjoyed to hear Mrs. Blake say that Susan could go to camp.

The next few days were busy and exciting ones. All Wendy and Susan and Brian and Randy could talk about was camp. And on Friday morning they were all packed and waiting as the big bus stopped for them in front of the Tompson's house.

The children said a quick good-bye to their parents and climbed into the crowded bus. Everyone was talking and laughing and singing as the bus rolled along. The two-hour trip passed swiftly and, almost before they knew it, they were driving into the camp grounds.

The bus stopped in front of the large dining hall, and a counsellor stood up and quieted the excited children. She told them to leave their things on the bus and go directly into the dining hall as lunch was ready for them.

"Wow! Am I hungry!" Brian exclaimed a few minutes later as he sat down to a plate piled high with good things.

"You shouldn't be after you finish all of that," Randy teased. His blue eyes were full of laughter as he added, "I bet if the camp director knew how much you eat he would have charged you extra."

"Look at your own plate, man," Brian retorted. "If - " he stopped suddenly as the voice of Mr. Douglas, the camp director, came over the loud speaker.

Mr. Douglas told them that as soon as they finished eating, the counsellors would be waiting by the buses to take them to their cabins. "When you have put your things in your cabin, I want you to come at once to the main building in the center of the grounds. Don't waste any time," he advised. "I will expect to see you there in twenty-five minutes, so you will have to hustle."

The children soon finished eating and were taken to their cabins. "Oh Susan! I'm so glad we are in the same cabin," Wendy said, unpacking a few things swiftly and pushing her suitcase under her bed.

"So am I," Susan answered. "And isn't Miss Marion, our counsellor, nice? She even gave us beds close together. Come on, we'd better run, or we'll be late."

Inside the main building the girls sat down and looked around them. They saw Brian and Randy sitting across the aisle from them. The building soon filled with boys and girls, and Mr. Douglas stood up to speak to them.

"Welcome to Camp Good Hope," Mr. Douglas began. "I am very glad to see you all. If you are happy to be at camp, clap your hands."

The clapping started hesitatingly at first but grew louder and louder until finally Mr. Douglas had to cover his ears. Then he laughingly waved them to silence.

"Thank you," he said. "I can see we are all going, to have a good time together. Now I will tell you the camp rules and what is expected of each one of you."

After explaining the rules he told them there would be points given for such things as clean cabins, good behavior, crafts, and sports. He also said that they would each be assigned a camp 'buddy.' "I want you to help your buddy. Be kind to him. See that he is not left out of things and that he does not feel lonely. I hope that by the time camp is over you and your buddy will be good friends."

Mr. Douglas then turned to the wall behind him and uncovered a large, framed Bible verse. "Oooh," Wendy whispered, "isn't that beautiful, Susan?"

Susan nodded. Her fascinated gaze was fixed on the golden letters that shone brilliantly against a dark red background.

At Mr. Douglas' suggestion, the children read the words in unison, pronouncing each word clearly.

"That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." Colossians 1:10.

"That is our golden verse for camp," Mr. Douglas told them. "It means that we are to live every day in a way that will be pleasing to the Lord Jesus. First of all, we must accept Him as our Savior. Then we can please Him by doing kind deeds and by being helpful and obedient. As we study God's Word, we will learn more about the Lord Jesus and how we can grow to be more like Him each day. I want all of you to memorize this verse before you leave camp. Now, I am going to tell you who your buddy is."

"Oh," Susan whispered nervously. "I'm scared I'll get someone I don't like."

"Me, too," Wendy murmured. "I wish we didn't have to take one." She glanced toward Brian and Randy and saw them looking at each other rather doubtfully. Just then Brian turned and saw her troubled face. He smiled and motioned toward the golden verse. Wendy nodded and felt suddenly comforted. Of course Jesus would help them to love their camp buddies, no matter who they were. With all her heart, Wendy wanted to please the Lord Jesus and grow to be more like Him.

Mr. Douglas had already begun reading the names. As their names were called, the camp buddies went to the front and then went back and sat down together. Brian's name was called along with a Pete Brown.

Wendy watched in dismay as she saw a stocky, tousle-haired boy shuffle his way to the front. His jeans hung on him as if they belonged to an older brother, and he was scowling darkly as he looked at Brian. But a warm feeling rose up in Wendy's heart for her brother as she saw him reach out a friendly hand to Pete and smile at him cheerfully.

Oh, Wendy thought, Brian is starting to grow already. She glanced at the golden verse once again. Help me to grow too, Lord Jesus, she prayed in her heart. Help me to grow real fast. Wendy could hardly wait for her name to be called.

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