Recently, I got offered a certain level of salary for doing some writing work. My negotiations centered more on what quality work I was able to do and how I can get out that output and even more, if not bound by the 8-hour arrangement they wanted. Meanwhile the other side had to succumb to limits on resources. In the end, the agreed rate was lower than what I would’ve hoped, and lower than what I believed the quality I offered deserved.
I’m not being arrogant, that’s just the truth. Guess what happened? After the rate was agreed, I found myself zipping past the requirements (while still turning in higher-than-average quality and speed) and not wanting to go past the minimum. Instead of going extra (although of course, it was already extra enough) to my full potential, I would spend the rest of my time with other part-time pursuits. I felt that they did not deserve more than what they paid for, even if I knew I could do so much better, simply because they did not recognize how much I was worth (in the realm of work output).
In contrast, it got me thinking these days about the way God values me. Instead of telling me, “Hey, this is all you are worth to Me, you’d better do things to prove I didn’t make the wrong decision placing that value on you,” or demanding my service back to Him, He tells me how much He values me: on the same plane as His only Son.
“This is how much I value you, that I would give up My own Son for you.”
The effect? It makes my heart overflow everything back to Him, no strings attached, the same way He overflowed His love to me. I no longer count the hours I offer as a love dialogue to Him, or as I extend His love to others and see Him wooing them to Himself. Everything becomes fun, and I believe I am reaching my full heart potential simply because He saw value in me that I never saw myself.
We love because He first loved us, indeed!
I’m not being arrogant, that’s just the truth. Guess what happened? After the rate was agreed, I found myself zipping past the requirements (while still turning in higher-than-average quality and speed) and not wanting to go past the minimum. Instead of going extra (although of course, it was already extra enough) to my full potential, I would spend the rest of my time with other part-time pursuits. I felt that they did not deserve more than what they paid for, even if I knew I could do so much better, simply because they did not recognize how much I was worth (in the realm of work output).
In contrast, it got me thinking these days about the way God values me. Instead of telling me, “Hey, this is all you are worth to Me, you’d better do things to prove I didn’t make the wrong decision placing that value on you,” or demanding my service back to Him, He tells me how much He values me: on the same plane as His only Son.
“This is how much I value you, that I would give up My own Son for you.”
The effect? It makes my heart overflow everything back to Him, no strings attached, the same way He overflowed His love to me. I no longer count the hours I offer as a love dialogue to Him, or as I extend His love to others and see Him wooing them to Himself. Everything becomes fun, and I believe I am reaching my full heart potential simply because He saw value in me that I never saw myself.
We love because He first loved us, indeed!
No comments:
Post a Comment