The World’s Most Valuable Person : The Business of Christian Education XLVII

The world follows the news and updates about people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the late Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, and all those high profile persons who are actors like Jennifer Lawrence, Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, Dwayne Johnson, or athletes like Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, etc.  Because they are rich and famous and powerful.  Just a few days ago news about Bill Gates surfaced that he took over the number one place as the richest person in the world from Carlos Slim.  Bill Gates is now calculated to be worth 72 billion dollars.  People like them, everywhere they go they are always respected, always receive honor, comfort, pleasure, top of the line service, enjoying the flagship of goods.  They are the world’s most valuable persons (MVP).

            The world values people’s worth based on how much money they have or make.  The more money they make, the more worth they have.  Take for example recording artists.  Many of them come from humble origin.  Their first goal is to be able to express their music, their soul, and influence the world.  Then they make their mark, slowly but sure, in the music industry.  Recording companies sign them up.  But then, when their sales don’t go up as expected, they are dropped and their names slipped away from the media.  Regardless whether their music is beautiful or not, the value is not in the music but in how much money their music makes.  It doesn’t matter if the music is a torture to the ears, as long as they make tons of money, then they are worth it.  The world has its motto: “Follow the Money.”  And so people of the world compete to find their place by producing and pursuing money.  Money is the main determinant factor for one’s worth.  Therefore, people’s lives are then organized around the way to
produce the most money.  From childhood, people’s dream has been filled by the images of becoming rich and famous.  Being an artist, actor or actress, athlete, businessman or businesswoman, and all those professions that would bring in tons of money become the most popular pick among people.  Admitted or not, life for the most part is controlled by money.

            Being MVP brings in all the convenience in the world.  Having experience suffering in the world in many different forms and levels, we tend to avoid suffering and embrace convenience.  We all want comfort, there is no doubt about.  No sane person in this world would want to purposefully make oneself suffer or inflict suffering upon oneself.  Naturally we pursue convenience.  That is why technology becomes prominent in our world, because technology helps us enjoy convenience.  With the current cell phone technology, we can connect with people all around the world with relative ease.  Compared to 50 years ago, our current technology is so advanced that we don’t need to suffer the wait for a letter from our loved ones for weeks or even months.  With cell phones we can hear our loved ones’ voice in an instant, and even we can see them face to face through the screen just like they are right in front of us.  100 years ago, people traveled across continents by ships for many months.  They had to endure inconvenience in the ship if they were to travel abroad.  With the invention of commercial airplanes, we now can travel abroad in only hours.  The most probably is 30 hours of flight.  Compare that to the 3-4 months of travelling through the sea.  Being MVP enhances our convenience even more.  With money we can buy convenience.  Instead of waiting in line for boarding in the commercial airplanes, we can buy private jets and rid of the wait in line inconvenience, not to mention we can arrange our own schedule.  With money we can buy the best products we can get in our era: the best house, the best technology, the best food, the best clothing, etc.  With money we can also buy the best service of our era: medical service, security service, financial service, etc.  In this world there is no other way if we want to achieve such status as the world’s MVP.  The only path is through being rich.  Money is the main determinant factor of one’s worth.

            But, is it true that money determines one’s true worth?  Money does determine one’s worth according to the world standard.  But money does not determine one’s worth according to the creator of the world.  If not, then how is our worth determined according to our creator?  The Bible testifies of our glorious origin.  We are said to be created in the image of God.  Obviously we have an inherent value that is far greater than any materials of the world, be it of their quality or quantity.  No amount of gold or diamond or even the best of gold or diamond is more valuable than one’s soul.  Jesus says it that there is no good in gaining the whole world but losing one’s soul.  For there is nothing we can give in exchange of one’s soul.  Human soul is much more precious than anything in this world.  But what’s the difference between human soul and any other creature’s soul?  Is human soul worth more than gorilla’s soul?  Or tiger’s soul?  Or whale’s soul?  Or grasshopper’s soul?  I believe unanimously we can say that human soul is much more precious than any other soul in this world.  But why?  We can’t find the answer in science.  If we follow the track of science we will only find the physical quality and quantity of our worth.  According to science we are the sum of many parts such as carbon, calcium, iron, etc.  In other words, we are of the same worth as any other thing in the world such as trees, dogs, cockroaches, etc.  Because when we are broken down to all those parts, we are no different than them.  So science finds the reality of our physical worth that is not more valuable than anything else.  The difference is just that human can make money and other creatures can’t.  So money is what makes us valuable way more than any other creatures, according to the world.  But God testifies differently.  Even if we have the same components like anything else in the world, our design is creatively different.  Not only different but also gloriously genius.  Even though we have similar DNA structure like Chimpanzee or Gorilla, amazingly we are billions and billions greater than them.  The secret lies in our inherent worth as the image of God.

            Sadly however, such inherent value is broken since the Fall.  I must say nevertheless that even though broken, the image of God in us makes us still and always more valuable than anything else in the world.  But God doesn’t leave us to our doom and destruction, but instead he sent his one and only Son in order to restore the broken image to its original glorious worth.  Through his death on the cross, our broken image is restored, and once more we are capable of pleasing our creator.  But more than just restoring our inherent value, Jesus makes us even more valuable than our original nature by making us his brothers and sisters, and thus to be children of God.  Therefore, not only are we creatures of the world, but we are also divine.  No wonder we are worth far more than even compared to the entire universe.  For even if we gain the entire world, it’s worthless if we lose our soul.  But let me tell you this, the MVP is not those with tons of money.  The world doesn’t have any other way of measuring one’s worth but by physical quantity, and so one’s worth is determined by the only item the world knows to be accepted anywhere, money.  In the eyes of the Creator of everything, the MVP is not Bill Gates or Warren Buffett or Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan or Jennifer Lawrence or Tom Cruise, but the MVP is Jesus Christ.  Though when he comes into the world he has no worldly riches whatsoever, being humiliated to the lowest point, even lower than dogs, sold for 30 silver coins – the price of a slave, shunned by his own people, sentenced to death by the authorities for some ridiculous reasons, he is nevertheless the savior of the world, who brings human back to their glorious worth and much more to become divine.  Jesus Christ born in the lowly manger but yet declared as the King of Kings.  Jesus Christ is the King, for all authority in heaven and earth is in his hands, and that makes him the most valuable person.  Isaiah testifies that his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting father, Prince of Peace.  The world does not recognize him as valuable, and so crucified him cruelly.  Even though Jesus is the LOGOS, the creator of the world, the world fails to recognize its own maker.  But the fact remains, Jesus is the MVP.  As his brothers and sisters, we are also valuable in the eyes of God.  Not because we have tons of money, but because we are inherently worth it in his sight.  We are his image after all, and more importantly we are his children.  The Bible also testifies that the death of his saints is very valuable in his sight.  And so in Jesus Christ, the Most Valuable Person in heaven and earth, we are therefore the Most Valuable Persons in the world.  Praise God forever and ever.