June 7, 2015
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Muskego, Wisconsin
Invisible Suitcases: “I am worthless!”
1 John 3:1-2
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And
that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear
friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we
know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
You can see this suitcase behind me? I’m
surprised! But I’m also glad!
I’m surprised because I thought it was
invisible. I thought that no one would notice
that I’m dragging this suitcase behind me.
But I’m glad because I need help getting rid of
my invisible suitcases. And so do you.
In this message series “Invisible Suitcases,” we are looking at baggage all of us carry sometimes,
and many of us carry it most of the time. In the coming weeks we’ll look at the burdens we carry
like the idea that I’m a powerless victim, or that no one cares, or that we are all alone. Today, the
invisible suitcase that I want us to recognize and release is the emotional baggage that whispers
in our ears, “I am worthless.”
This is baggage that comes with every phase of life.
In school, if you were the one who was picked on, you may have often carried the suitcase, “I am
worthless!” Or you may not have been picked at all – because you are worthless in sports.
As you grew up, a boyfriend or girlfriend dumped you, or you never were asked to dance … and
the suitcase got bigger. Worthless!
You don’t get rid of this suitcase just because you have “grown up.” Your boss lays into you for
a mistake you readily admit. Worthless!
Even in old age! My dad carried this suitcase. He worked until he was 85. Finally, he couldn’t
keep going. And that’s when I started to hear him talk about this baggage. His life? Worthless!
How about you? Are there times that you carry this invisible baggage? Everyone around you
may think that everything is fine, but in your heart and mind, you can’t get rid of the feeling, “I
am worthless.”
The problem is that we tend to look in the wrong place for our selfworth. Most of the time we look into a mirror. What do you see in a
mirror? You see yourself. And when you look at yourself in the
mirror to determine your self-worth, you do have every reason to say,
“I am worthless.”
That’s what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Before they fell into sin, they focused their attention on their Creator.
They loved him and wanted to serve him. “Adam and his wife were
both naked, and they felt no shame” (Genesis 2:25).
But when they chose to look out for themselves rather than serve God, their focus changed.
Moses records that they then realized they were naked.
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and
also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,
who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized
they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves” (Genesis
3:6,7).
I want to give credit where credit is due. Over twenty years ago I read a book that helped me
immensely. It is a book by Lutheran pastor Don Matzat called Christ-Esteem. The reason why I
mention it is that the author of the book has made it available free online at
www.pastormattrichard.webs.com/ChristEsteem.pdf. He is the one who helped me understand
why Adam and Eve suddenly felt shame. They began looking at themselves. They began
evaluating their worth based on themselves. And they realized that they were failures. Worthless!
And so they were filled with shame.
They aren’t the only ones. As you step through the Bible, you hear that same evaluation. Every
time someone looks in the mirror to find his or her self-worth, he is going to be disappointed.
The prophet Isaiah asked the entire nation of Israel to look into the mirror. They were asking,
“Why is God punishing us?” What did Isaiah see?
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we
all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Isaiah 64:6).
The Israelites were pointing to all the good stuff they were doing for God – the temple service
was continuing, they had a godly king in Hezekiah – but all that “good stuff” didn’t add to their
self-worth. In God’s eyes, it was always “filthy rags.” The reality is that everything that we do is
somehow contaminated by sinful motives or desires. “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart clean?
I am pure and without sin?’” (Proverbs 20:9)
That same self-delusion was present in the people around Jesus (Mark 10:17-27). A rich young
man came running up to Jesus. He was looking at himself in the mirror and he liked what he saw.
So then Jesus had to tell him to look a little closer. He said, “Go, sell everything you have and
give it to the poor.” The man went away sad. He had failed the test. Jesus wanted to help him see
his own idolatry.
That’s what Paul says too. In Romans 7, he laments the split personality that he saw within
himself. “The good that I would do, I do not. And the evil that I would not do, that I do.” In
exasperation, he calls out at the end of the chapter, “What a wretched man that I am! Who will
rescue me from this body of death?”
Why do I feel that I am worthless? Why do I carry this baggage? It is because I am looking into
the mirror. And I see the same thing that Adam and Eve did, the same thing Isaiah did, the same
thing Jesus wanted the rich young man to see, the same thing Paul saw. I am worthless. Nothing
I do is good enough. That whisper in our ears is correct – if we only look into the mirror and
want to find our self-worth by looking at ourselves, the correct answer is “Worthless!”
The solution is to stop looking into the mirror, and instead to look through
the magnifying glass. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us!”
(1 John 3:1) Let God’s love get bigger in your eyes!
When Adam and Eve focused on their Creator, they saw how precious and
valuable they were. The God who created the entire world created it for their
benefit. He fashioned them like a potter fashions the clay.
What a comfort it is to look into the magnifying glass of God’s love and see
that what was true of Adam and Eve is true of each of us. We can see our
worth in our creation.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well (Psalm 139:13-14).
When you look into the magnifying glass of God’s love, you see your great worth in your
redemption. “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you
were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the
precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
Back in 2008, when houses lost value, what changed? Did the real value of your house change?
Did it somehow no longer keep the rain off of you or keep you warm in the winter? Of course
not! The only thing that changed was what someone else was willing to pay to buy it. Its worth
was determined by what someone was willing to pay for it.
In the same way, your worth is based on what someone is willing to pay for you. Look again at
that passage. You have been purchased, redeemed, “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb
without blemish or defect.”
You were purchased at the price of God’s own blood. That is your real value. Drop the mirror
when you are looking for your self-worth. You won’t find anything sure and lasting there.
Instead, pick up the magnifying glass and let God’s love be magnified. Jesus said you are worth
more than many sparrows (Our Gospel Lesson for the Day: Luke 12:22-32). Guess what? You
are worth the price of God himself. Your worth is amazing.
And what does God call us? What is our identity? “How great is the love the Father has lavished
on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!”
When you look in the mirror, you will see the filthy rags that Isaiah talked about. You’ll see the
wretchedness that Paul saw. You’ll be tempted to turn away in disgust at yourself like the rich
young man did and try to hide your shame like Adam and Eve did. But that’s not what a parent
does.
Is there any parent here who has not peeled clothes of their child who had diarrhea? Not a
pleasant experience! But that filth… did it devalue your child? No! Their identity was “your
child”! Their worth to you is infinite. So you clean them up again.
It is interesting that Paul in 1 Corinthians 1 has to remind his readers that they were not wise or
noble or rich or great so that God looked at them and said, “Wow! I need them in my family!”
No, they were poor and weak and insignificant. And that is us too. So that we boast not in
ourselves, but in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31).
But there is another place to look to understand your self-worth.
Take a look through some binoculars.
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has
not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,
we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
You use binoculars to see into the distance. The better the
binoculars, the farther and clearer you can see.
Right now, with the naked eye, we can’t see our self-worth. It is hidden with Christ in God
(Colossians 3:1-4). But when Christ appears, then we shall see who we truly are. That is why it is
so vital to put on the binoculars, to see as clearly as possible what we will be like. We shall be
like him!
Are any of you tired of sinning? I am. But we shall be like him! Are any of you tired of being in
pain – physical pain or emotional pain? Look through the binoculars. Jesus is coming and that
we shall be like him with no pain. Are any of you tired of facing your own death or the death of
people whom you love? Look through the binoculars and see that Jesus will never die again. And
we shall be like him.
When Jesus comes, then our identity will no longer be hidden. Then we shall see clearly our
great worth in God’s sight. Then we shall see clearly that we are children of God.
A dear friend of mine is suffering from PTSD. It is a horrible thing to experience. It is so
frustrating that an individual can’t just will themselves better. There is this voice that says, “You
are so worthless.” It is my privilege to open up that invisible suitcase, to take out the mirror and
break it! To put in its place a magnifying glass and a pair of binoculars. To magnify God’s love –
You are God’s child, created and redeemed by him. And to keep a clear view of Jesus’ return –
because that helps us see ourselves as God does – perfect, precious and eternal. Amen.
Next Steps
Claim your worth: Memorize 1 John 3:1-2.
Understand your worth: Download a free copy of the book Christ-Esteem: Where the Search
for Self-Esteem Ends by Pastor Don Matzat at www.pastormattrichard.webs.com/ChristEsteem.pdf
Share your worth: Pray, “Holy Spirit, give me an opportunity to build up ____________ who
is carrying the invisible suitcase: ‘I am worthless.’”