Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. Psalm 8:5 (NLT)
Who is worthy of respect? Sometimes we only seem to qualify if we meet the cultural standard of the day. In our culture, we value beautiful people. We also value achievement, success and talent.
We have no trouble crowning people with glory, honour, dignity and worth if we think they’ve earned it. But what about a homeless person? Someone in prison? The person who was caught having an affair or whose business failed? Someone struggling with depression? Do they get crowned with glory and honour…or shame and avoidance?
God has a very different viewpoint. Today’s verse not only says that He made mankind only a little lower than Himself—which is incredible—but also that He crowned us with glory and honour. Because we earned it? No, it was a gift. In God’s eyes, we are all of infinite worth and value.
Today is Remembrance Day in Canada, and I so admire our armed forces. At the core of what they do is this belief that we are all worthy of the chance to live with dignity and freedom—and that it’s worth fighting for!
Today, let’s challenge ourselves to join that fight for the value and dignity of all. We often fall for the lie that if we shame people, their behaviour will improve. Psychology shows that this approach doesn’t work, and Jesus modelled love and acceptance, not judgment and condemnation. We need to do the same.
Today, through simple kindness, I challenge you to show someone the truth—that they are of infinite worth and value!