Lately I have been struck by the idea of “human value.”
Every week I do ministry, serving the chronically addicted and mentally ill. There is nowhere else I would rather be. I choose them. And we love them without ever expecting that they change. We realize that the majority never will.
So if they don’t change, if that never happens, does that diminish their value? Are they a scourge on our society? Are they freeloaders? Lazy? Less than?
What if...
What if their value was that they exist solely to teach others to love without judgement? To teach others what diversity looks like? To teach others how to give, without expecting anything in return?
What if their value was to teach ME? To teach me how to pray more? To teach me how to understand mental illness better? To teach me that even if someone in addiction never ever recovers they are valued and their life has meaning and purpose?
What if God sends me there, not to help change them...
What if God sends me there....to change you and I. And that is their value.