The Lie of Unworthiness

I’ve been believing a lie my whole life. One that has permeated everything I’ve ever done. One that has been the driving force for so many of my attempts and my accomplishments.

It’s the lie of unworthiness.

People, mainly good intentioned church people, have told me (and my peers) over and over that I am unworthy simply because of the sin and degredation I was born in. Simply being a fallen human makes me unworthy.

What I hope they mean (at least, what I believe they mean, in good faith), is that on my own I am unworthy of the forgiveness that Christ offers and, that may be true. On my own, I have no way to be worthy of Heaven, without the Cross.

However, this perpetuates something deeper – the lie of unworthiness.

It permeates everything we do, everything we believe about ourselves. It has us question whether we deserve love or kindness, or respect or success.

When in fact, simply being human makes us worthy. We were WORTH IT (therefore worthy) to Christ to suffer and die for us. He called us worthy, even in our sinful state, and gave himself for us in the greatest act of love ever known in human history.

Being human, made fearfully and wonderfully in His image, means we are worthy. Worthy of connection. Worthy of Love. Worthy of respect. Worthy of decency and kindness.

From ourselves and from others.

Each of us. Regardless of sex, gender, size, color, race, creed, religion. Being human makes us worthy – enough for the blood of Christ, enough for the love and kindness of others, and enough for the love and care for ourselves.

Yet, somehow I have bought into this lie & find myself clinging to it more often than I’d like. Being told over and over that I am unworthy. We use this dangerous language to try to emphasize the need for Christ, but we carry it over into every other area of our lives. We carry it from childhood to adulthood, and we look for all the evidence that it’s true.

Then comes the striving. Doing all the things just to try to prove that we are worthy. If I just work harder. If I just get this degree. If I just follow this set of legalistic guidelines. If I lose x amount of weight. If I change my hair color. If I get this job or that job. If I do x, y, z, then, I’ll be worthy. To myself, to others.

Until, one day, we feel like we’re struggling to make solid connections, striving for the next thing to prove our worth or wondering when the rug will get pulled out from under our feet because we are unworthy of all the good.

I’ve spent a lot of my time reminding myself of that lie – the lie of unworthiness.

But, the older I get, the more I realize how untrue it is. I am worthy – mental and physical health struggles and all. No need to hide them, shield them, or be ashamed of them.

I no longer have to carry the lie of unworthiness. And, neither do you.

So, let’s be worthy together, shall we? Let’s be awesome moms and wives, just as we are. Let’s chase those crazy big dreams God placed in our hearts, because He wouldn’t have placed them there if we weren’t worthy.

If we are to live worthy of the Cross – as Paul put it – we can’t cling to the lie of unworthiness.

So, let’s be worthy together, shall we?