Any economic discussion on the value of money will include the idea that a currency's value is completely determined by confidence. As a kid, I always thought a nickel had to be worth more than five cents since it was so much heavier than a dime. And it didn't make sense that a piece of paper could be worth 20 or 2,000 times more than the piece of metal I held in my hand. A representation of value is only as good as the confidence we have in who will honor it.
If we use U.S. dollars, we believe in things that are invisible. The value of a $1 bill is based on my confidence that I can use it to buy an equal value in goods and the person I give it to will also believe.
Now I don't even need to believe in paper any more. Numbers I see on a website give me confidence I have power to obtain goods and services. I type some of these numbers in other boxes and the receiving party believes those numbers are valid.
Because there is such a groundswell of confidence, it wouldn't matter if I personally stopped believing my $1 bill wasn't worth that for a day or so. But when enough people stop believing in the value of it, it will be affected.
It would be sad if our own value was determined by everyone's confidence in us. Sadder still is, most of us have already undervalued ourselves without any help from anyone else. The world tries to help us gain confidence by telling us to master skills, win friends and influence people. But if you don't truly have confidence deep down, you can only fake it for so long.
It is unfortunate that so many Christians do not understand their value. It affects our confidence in sharing the One and Only life force in the universe---Jesus Christ. It is not the value I place on myself that will help me win the day and the month and a lifetime; it is the confidence I have in Him who is able to do exceedingly above all I expect or think, and enables me to do all things through Him.
Fortunately, God does not depend on our confidence to remain the same yesterday, today and forever. If we lose our confidence in His constancy, He remains faithful and true. And He never stops believing we are valuable, no matter what we've done.
If we understand our own value through Him, we are then able to truly value others and not just paste a politically correct face on things. People know when we truly value them. There is eventually a test of that genuineness and it comes when we least expect it. When we are real, we don't have to worry about being found out in hypocrocy.
If you lack confidence, ask the Lord to show you who you are in Him. Ask Him to give you eyes to see the treasure that you are.
If we use U.S. dollars, we believe in things that are invisible. The value of a $1 bill is based on my confidence that I can use it to buy an equal value in goods and the person I give it to will also believe.
Now I don't even need to believe in paper any more. Numbers I see on a website give me confidence I have power to obtain goods and services. I type some of these numbers in other boxes and the receiving party believes those numbers are valid.
Because there is such a groundswell of confidence, it wouldn't matter if I personally stopped believing my $1 bill wasn't worth that for a day or so. But when enough people stop believing in the value of it, it will be affected.
It would be sad if our own value was determined by everyone's confidence in us. Sadder still is, most of us have already undervalued ourselves without any help from anyone else. The world tries to help us gain confidence by telling us to master skills, win friends and influence people. But if you don't truly have confidence deep down, you can only fake it for so long.
It is unfortunate that so many Christians do not understand their value. It affects our confidence in sharing the One and Only life force in the universe---Jesus Christ. It is not the value I place on myself that will help me win the day and the month and a lifetime; it is the confidence I have in Him who is able to do exceedingly above all I expect or think, and enables me to do all things through Him.
Fortunately, God does not depend on our confidence to remain the same yesterday, today and forever. If we lose our confidence in His constancy, He remains faithful and true. And He never stops believing we are valuable, no matter what we've done.
If we understand our own value through Him, we are then able to truly value others and not just paste a politically correct face on things. People know when we truly value them. There is eventually a test of that genuineness and it comes when we least expect it. When we are real, we don't have to worry about being found out in hypocrocy.
If you lack confidence, ask the Lord to show you who you are in Him. Ask Him to give you eyes to see the treasure that you are.
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