We often find ourselves chasing more from life. More money, more possessions, more happiness, more from ourselves and those around us, and maybe more of something we can’t even quite name… While wanting more for ourselves is not “bad,” it can be important to consider if we have fallen into a trap of feeling that our self-worth is wrapped up in what we seek to obtain. We can become consumed by the idea that if we can just get more (money, love, status, time…), life would be better. Maybe the next achievement will give us the recognition and acceptance we long for and we will finally be “enough.”
If we find ourselves in this cycle and we are able to achieve in significant ways, we may think highly of ourselves and life may seem to go well. Or perhaps we become hypervigilant about keeping up with our current pace, or exceeding it, so we can still be looked at in an honorable way. While it’s helpful to have goals and work to achieve them, we may begin living in fear of not achieving enough, or letting down others or ourselves in the race to achieve. However, we are human and we are faced with a limitation of time and energy. Often we find ourselves continuing to push harder and harder until we find we no longer are able to. If we are faced with the reality of our own limitations, we may fall into a rut and believe our importance and our value have gone down the gutter along with our high performance.
So is there any other way to move forward? Henri Nowen invites us to consider that we are not the product of our achievements (what we do), or what we have, or even what others say about us, but something entirely different. Henri presents us with a counter-cultural way of living by considering or accepting that our true identity is based on our belovedness as a child of God. Perhaps the most challenging truth about being the beloved is that we are unable to earn or achieve our way to it. God offers this constant love as an outpouring of His perfect love for us. We simply (or perhaps not so simply) get to choose to accept it.
While achievements are a part of our story, they are not what creates worth. Our worth is derived from being created and loved by God. This intrinsic value is non-negotiable and never changing. The longing deep within us is waiting for us to capture this love and embrace it for ourselves.
~MM