Redefining Value

"If we did all the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves" Thomas Edison

In school, after being taught the history of the Vikings, and how they settled across Asia and America, we were taught about the wonders of self help mantras. A sandal wearing curly-haired guest teacher came along and encouraged us to always think positively, because apparently positive thoughts would give us the power to attract financial wealth.

On the cusp of graduation, we were pondering future career paths and, being impressionable, it seemed like we held the keys to success with new age lady lending us her pearls of wisdom. Being hormonal teenagers we knew we couldn’t remain permanently blissful as if having undergone extreme face lifts, but gave it a whirl anyway. We imagined the massive graduation parties we could throw and the great food we could treat our guests to. In this spirit we began uttering self help mantras whilst looking in the mirror.

I am strong. I am powerful.

Our dreams imploded in a puddle of recrimination and sulking as we digested the harsh reality that this supposed money spinner wasn’t going to turn us into millionaires. We became angry teenagers grade one, when normally we were only a grade three.

Why? Because when you’re loooking for purpose, and someone promises to give you that but doesn’t deliver, it’s just. not. cool. The self-help industry is a billion dollar enterprise that claims to sell hope, as though some divine blessing comes included. But it’s not hope it’s selling, it’s despair. This is why I can understand when young people get angry today. We all know that crime doesn't pay, but young people are not born angry. They don’t just spontaneously combust on a lazy afternoon. Their views and beliefs develop as they grow up. Many have been at the receiving end of unfulfilled promises for quite some time, feeling unheard and misunderstood. Young people love to discuss their hopes and dreams with each other – most parents and teachers encourage them to reach their full potential. However something happens somewhere along the line, and they stop believing big. The only way they know to cover up their hurts is to stop caring, and eventually they can’t stand the agony of trying to connect again so they shut down.
In the wake of the recent riots, theories of roots and causes abounded. The thing is that riots tend to tell us something important about society and what is going on. The train of thought I found most interesting focused on reasons why we tend to define ‘value’ in terms of economic contribution and status, when human beings have value that doesn't depend on external factors. We have turned the word on its head; calibrated it from every angle; wrestled with it until daybreak yet if we look the word up in a dictionary - definitions tend to be centered around monetary value. And when human value is mentioned, an uncomfortable silence ensues, like just before women reject compliments from men they dont' know because they're concerned about their motives.

There is a sense of injustice among many young people that they cannot trust the ‘suits’ as they read the headlines about banks paying ridiculous bonuses, MPs claiming on houses that do not exist and police being paid by newspapers. Surely these are just glorified forms of ‘looting’ and they see themselves as following suit. It's not about the riots, rather, it's about the symptoms of a widespread sickness in our society. It should unsettle us, where we are part of fuelling a tendency that disenfranchises people who have very little to lose. Because everyone loses out in the end. Because what is natural is God-given and beautiful; what is cultural is learned and sometimes needs to be unlearned. King David was chosen as King over all his brothers because he was a man after God's own heart, not because he was the strongest or the smartest.

“But God told Samuel, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart." (The Message - 1 Samuel 16:7)

I am created by the God who has created all things and given everything its form and its purpose. So are you. Let that truth settle in your heart.