The cash value of all the elements within your body, combined with the average total area of skin per person, is a whopping $4.50! Not sure how that makes you feel. But at least you're a bargain. Other sources are a bit more generous: most insurance companies come in at about $50,000. Not bad, but that still seems awfully low. Stanford economists push that up a bit to $129,000 - a marked improvement (also considered the value of one year of quality life). When a solider is tragically killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, the US government pays the family $500,000 as a death benefit. But one source stood out more than most, valuing a human life at an astounding $45 million dollars! That’s better. In fact a lung is going for $116,400. Need a kidney? They are going for $91,400. And a heart, broken or not, will cost you $57,000.
All told, the average value of a human life is about $10.5 million. And yes, attempting to place a value on a human life is a bit unethical and disturbing.
All told, the average value of a human life is about $10.5 million. And yes, attempting to place a value on a human life is a bit unethical and disturbing.
So the next time you say you feel like a million bucks, try again. You're selling yourself short (or maybe much too high). And if you are planning on being an organ donor, you might want to hold out for more. Of course these numbers drop dramatically if you are deceased.
But all this brings us to the true theme of this blog post:
What is the worth of a soul?
Remove the accolades, the job, the titles (outside of mom, dad, brother, sister, son, daughter, etc), and any real or imagined fame - Who are you? Where do you stand and what do you stand for? How do you value yourself?
Obviously we can’t place a price or monetary value on a soul. To begin with, we can’t own a soul. We belong to God. Yet even with this verity, too many souls wander through life seeking a firm (even a simple) understanding of who they are as they try to find their purpose and place. And still even more simply go through the motions, existing in the safe confines of their comfort zone – merely surviving but never truly living. For such individuals, the answers to their life questions are left bogged down in mystery, uncertainty, and frustration.
During this earthly sojourn, many will experience the sometimes overwhelming feeling of inadequacy and worthlessness, that perfection is unattainable. The good news of course is that in this life, perfection is both unattainable and beyond our reach. Our imperfections are a result of living in an imperfect world, as well as possessing imperfect bodies. We entered this life lacking the ability and knowledge to become perfect.
As we engage in this quest of self discovery, we will encounter plenty of character challenging obstacles. One of the most debilitating is fear. Fear can be as destructive a force as any and is one of Satan’s great weapons employed in his arsenal to demoralize self worth, demoting us to his level of misery. But just as “no one can make you feel inferior without your consent,”[i] we know Satan’s influence on us is only as effective as we allow it to be. When we choose to let fear become a dominant factor in our lives, we are accepting a path leading not to one of happiness, but a rugged trail of misery and accepted loneliness. In fact, we are choosing to live life in opposition to the manner our Father in Heaven wants for us-thereby we lack joy.
Allowing any fear to control us to the point that we walk away from realizing our fullest potential, is a frightening proposition. Sadly though, this realization of what we’ve “lost” is often only understood in retrospect-the “what might have beens” of life.
So what are we afraid of? What keeps us from not only reaching our fullest potential, but even working towards it?
So what are we afraid of? What keeps us from not only reaching our fullest potential, but even working towards it?
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” -Marianne Williamson
One way in which we acknowledge God's love, His hand in our lives, and our gratitude for His gifts is by sharing ourselves with the world. Of course the world will always devalue you. So what matters is how you value yourself. Does your value rise and fall with the stocks? Do you listen to and heed how other's view you? Well it's time to invest in You! It's time for you to be Great!
So quit comparing yourself to others. Quit devaluing yourself when you "fail" or fall short of potential. So you aren't the biggest, strongest, fastest, best at everything. And so what if someone else is seen by others as all around "better." Just be the best you, you can be. When you see yourself in the mirror, the hope someday is to see yourself as God sees you. Until then, you should see a beautiful, imperfect person - full of potential and endless worth.
The Savior’s love, mercy, and atoning sacrifice complete that which we cannot. He fulfills our shortfalls. Doing the impossible alone leads nowhere. With Christ, all things are possible.
The Savior’s love, mercy, and atoning sacrifice complete that which we cannot. He fulfills our shortfalls. Doing the impossible alone leads nowhere. With Christ, all things are possible.
Even when you feel unworthy of another's love, including your own, "Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;" He does not, will not, and I believe cannot, value one soul more than another. His Love is unconditional. He loves the sinner as He loves the saint. To God we are priceless. And if possible, more so. In God’s eyes, we are everything to Him.
And know this, WHO you ARE is always more important than what you are (the divine titles excluded). What you are comes and goes. It changes with time, age, and desire. What you will become certainly matters, but only in your quest in discovering who you are. Who you are will always matter.
None of us knows when we'll be called home. And very few are aware of the lives we are touching for good. Now is the time to Learn to love yourself, to Learn to love others, and to Learn to Love Life!
How much are you getting out of that $4.50? Hopefully you're living a priceless life!
Be Good!
(Oh, one more fact. As it stands, women are worth more than men and it's not even close. In other words, invest in women).
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