Joseph’s brothers had originally planned to kill him. However, his brother Judah felt that was too harsh and convinced the others to sell him to the Ishmaelites. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver—a slaves wage. We know that Joseph’s true value was far greater than twenty pieces of silver. In fact, Joseph’s contribution to Egypt and the world was far more valuable than money. He not only saved Egypt from famine and saved his own people from starvation and possible extinction, he preserved the bloodline that would produce Christ.
There will be many times in our lives when people will reject us because they do not know our true value—or times when we believe we are less than what God created us to be because of the way people treat us. I’m here to remind you that God has determined your worth. The fact that other people may not see your value is their problem. It only matters that you know your value based on what God has put inside of you.
When I was younger, I had a friend who always needed my advice or help with something. I was always happy to help and support her until I realized that she never had time to help or support me. She did not appreciate the time and effort I put into our relationship. She did not value me as friend, but only valued what I could do for her. For years, I put up with it because I didn’t understand my own worth. I realized that being angry at her for not valuing our relationship in the same way was not helpful. I had to learn to assess my own value based on what God says about me. To this day, when I feel I am not being valued in a relationship, at work or in ministry, instead of being angry or put upon, I always choose distance over disrespect. No one will know your worth until you do!
Presiding Action
Think about a time when someone treated you less than you know your value to be. It could be a friend, family member, significant other or someone at your job or at your church. How did you feel about that? Think about how you responded. Going forward, how will you now respond to those who don’t know your value? Will you stay and be resentful and angry? Or will you choose distance over disrespect?