One of the things that is special about our holy scriptures is the way we fit into the universe. In some religious paradigms, humans were an accident, or a slave race, designed and built to serve. The idea that humanity was actually made in the image of God was, at the time of the storytelling in Genesis, a bit of a radical claim.
It’s also something we often forget. Yes, Pride is listed among the seven deadly sins, but its opposite, self-abnegation, is also a sin. That is when you go beyond humility, and go into actually denigrating your God-given worth.
This is a dangerous way to do things, because people without self-worth are easy to bully, easy to manipulate, easy to control. When someone sees themselves as worthless, they stop advocating for themselves, but also for others, because “what could I possibly do?” This June, I encourage everyone to remember their own inherent beauty, their own worth. This isn’t to say we should start acting like everything about us is perfect at the cost of others, but it is worth remembering that we were, in fact, all beautifully and wonderfully made. And when you see a community of downtrodden people celebrating their specialness, like the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, or the African American community on Juneteenth, you have a choice… be the voice of the world telling them that they are worthless… or the voice of God, reminding them that yes, they ARE beautiful, and of worth.
Pastor Dan
