Your Self-Worth

I've been reading Ayn Rand's classic, Atlas Shrugged. It's an interesting book because it discusses many tendencies we have as humans; some economical, some philosophical, philanthropical, and some emotional. But here's one that had me utterly captivated: the difference between inner cause and outer effect.

Why do we pursue certain goals? Because we have established in ourselves the desire to do so. I find myself diplomatically-inclined, interested in politics, and eager to travel. My inner desires determine my outward actions: pursuing an education with Patrick Henry College in International Policy and Politics. I have passion to lead and a heart for preserving purity; I have become a leader in the explorer program and I surround myself with girls seeking direction and help. Cause. Effect. Desire. Action. Obvious, right?

Well, what happens when we reverse the two? What happens when the inner cause no longer determines bodily action; rather, it is bodily action that attempts to attain some sort of inner desire? I can tell you what happens -- a mess. A mess that resembles today's society to incredible precision. Teenagers no longer look to themselves or to a Higher-Source to determine their self-esteem. Instead, society encourages us to seek money, relationships, sexual activities, and addictions in order to determine our self-worth. Our actions begin to determine our inner elements. Girls no longer establish within themselves their value and pursue purity and righteousness because they deserve it -- they pursue boys and relationships to indicate their value and to see what they deserve. It's cause and effect reversed. Boys no longer view themselves as fighters, as protectors of what is right; they don't believe they have what it takes to stay clean, morally upright, and courageous. So, they fight, lie, curse, and revel in pornography and sensual behavior to tell them who they are and to determine their masculinity. The perspective has changed. We no longer look to our hearts, our minds, our intellect, our God to tell us who we already are and what we should become. No. We look to the world and ask what we should do in order to become someone -- to discover who we are.

Where does that leave us? "No, I won't go to college because I won't succeed." "No, I won't make a life-time commitment because I will fail." "No, I won't maintain my purity because it doesn't mean anything." "No, I won't give up pornography because it tells me I'm a man." "No, I won't strive for honesty because I'm not strong enough to face the truth." Since when did humanity fall to the dictatorship of dead-ends? When did we allow ourselves to be bound by what we do instead of what we want? I can tell you: the moment we exchange who God says we are for the results of our actions...The moment we act to determine our worth instead of letting our worth determine our actions.

· Ephesians one:

· You are a saint

· You are blessed with every spiritual blessing

· You are chosen by God

· You are holy

· You are blameless

· You are loved

· You have been given grace

· You are redeemed

· You are forgiven

· You have been lavished with riches

· You have been given a purpose

· You are marked with His everlasting seal.

Let it be these things that determine your actions. Let these be the cause, the drive behind all you do