Musing – Aren’t you glad you are not perfect?!?!

Hebraic Musing – Aren’t you glad you are not perfect?!?!

There are two kinds of people – those who think too highly of themselves, and those who put themselves down. For that second group, is it possible that you are worth a lot more than you think?  Here are two ways to address this personal value question.

The first has to do with gemstones to which we are compared in Exod.25:7; 35:9 and 35:27.  God wants ‘gems’ mounted on the breastplates of the leaders – close to the hearts of the leaders.  And the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece,  ESV   In-other-words, the leaders were to keep these gems close to their hearts as constant reminders of the 12 tribes and all the people under their care. 

Can ‘gemstones’ be compared to people?  Suppose you’ve been given two ‘diamonds’ and one is perfect in Carat, Color, Clarity and Cut; the other diamond is flawed in each of the 4 C’s.  Which one is worth more?  Hint – No real diamond is perfect in the 4 ‘C’s so it must be artificial or man-made.  The imperfect one is genuine and therefore worth much more than the artificially man-made stone.  We the people, us folk, with all our imperfections are very valuable in our Maker’s eyes.  Which people did Yeshua come for?  And, with whom did Yeshua hang out with before He died?  The perfect folks (those who thought they were okay) or the imperfect ones like us who cannot be made perfect by man’s efforts?  We are the imperfect people the leaders were told by God to keep close to their heart. 

The prophet Jeremiah understood the value of the people in God’s eyes.  Lamentations 4:1 starts with a sub-title “The Holy Stones Lie Scattered.”   How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed!  The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street. ESV  The priesthood and the leaders had forgotten the value that Father God put on His people.

A second way to look at our personal value by using a parable – if I think my 2005 GMC pickup truck is worth $25,000 and I put it on the market, did I determine its value?  No.   But a potential buyer comes along and offers me $17,000 for my pick-up, and I decide to sell it for that amount.  Who determined the value?  The Buyer, not the seller, ultimately determines the value?  Our value has already been determined when "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” and when Yeshua paid the price of his life for His purchase of our souls – Mark 10:45  “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." ESV   Yes, Yeshua purchased us by paying the ultimate price.  He deemed each of us, both you and I, to be worth dying for.  That’s how valuable you are!

We can become overly proud of our accomplishments (“I’ve got it together”) or just as wrong, we become self-deprecating.  But Romans 12:3 says Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.  NIV

As Rabbi Eckstein said “This week, let’s focus on polishing our own diamonds – our own souls. Don’t mind the flaws – they just prove you’re a living, breathing person with value beyond comprehension.”

Points to Ponder

Do we tend to lose sight of the value of all the ‘gems’ around us?

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                                   March 4, 2014

Author of two books “Hebraic Insights” and  “Biblical Marriage”
And weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings” 
Yosef1@cox.net  or  www.InsightsByYosef.com