my value on eBay
Some of you know about my eBay addiction. eBay is more of a game than it is shopping. It combines two powerful forces. Materialism and competition. Both of these things make eBay something that can easily capture one’s attention.
Recently I have been trying to buy stuff at a low price and sell it at a higher price. There are little tricks to the trade of getting noticed. So I thought I would give it a whirl. Being fairly new to eBay is a small disadvantage because people wonder if they can trust a new eBayer. However, today I have arrived. No longer do I have to wonder what others think about me as I prance around the large virtual auction house. I have a gold star by my name.
That’s right. Michael Hidalgo has arrived in the eBay world. I officially have ten people who in one person’s words think I am “a friendly eBayer.” Another said he “would deal with [me] anytime.” When I saw my gold star and the number 10 next to my username I smiled, and then I thought “Please tell yourself that you are not that happy about a gold star.”
I couldn’t answer myself. I heard the words of my friend ring in my ears from two days before as we talked about what gives value to people. The longer I went without answering the question I posed to myself the more nervous I became. This then compounded with the fact that I was asking myself a question that I could not answer. I looked at the computer screen and wondered how many people have this same conversation with themselves. I then followed up with the question, “How many are sick enough to blog about a long, detailed conversation one had with himself?”
So where does our value come from? This is a question that I have to wrestle with each day. When I was in my early twenties God brought me into a world where I spoke to a lot of people on weekends. Some of those who were a part of the same faith community would compliment me for what I would say. In many ways what they thought gave me a sense of self-worth. The problem was when I left that particular church. Those people, while they genuinely loved me, no longer were giving me the value input I needed.
Consequently I had this value deficit. I did not know what to think about myself. This is just one way I have caught myself doing this over the years. I wait for others to tell me what I am worth. The problem is that men and women are far too picky to base our value upon. Beyond that, when I place value on a person it is often shallow.
We need to come to the place where we ascribe value to others and find value in ourselves from a much higher place than a platform in a church, several zero’s on a paycheck or through our feedback scores on eBay. Our value is simply this. We are shadows of God. We are his image. My value comes when I cultivate what has been given to me. I am only a little lower than the angels and God is mindful of me. I am called to co-author the story that God has written for me before the foundations of the earth were laid.
Together humanity occupies the central place on God’s mantle. God crafted men and women to be like, look like and feel like him. The problem is we have become so temporary in the way we think about life that we cannot think to exist in a world where we think about eternity. We think eBay but God thinks Kingdom of Heaven. We think feedback score but God thinks Imago Dei.
So there I was staring at my computer screen. I thought about my gold star. I was relieved that I was not overly happy about having this new thing behind my name. I did however contemplate how I find value and ascribe value to others. If value is derived through anything other than viewing myself and others as the craftsmanship of God than I am falling terribly short.
Recently I have been trying to buy stuff at a low price and sell it at a higher price. There are little tricks to the trade of getting noticed. So I thought I would give it a whirl. Being fairly new to eBay is a small disadvantage because people wonder if they can trust a new eBayer. However, today I have arrived. No longer do I have to wonder what others think about me as I prance around the large virtual auction house. I have a gold star by my name.
That’s right. Michael Hidalgo has arrived in the eBay world. I officially have ten people who in one person’s words think I am “a friendly eBayer.” Another said he “would deal with [me] anytime.” When I saw my gold star and the number 10 next to my username I smiled, and then I thought “Please tell yourself that you are not that happy about a gold star.”
I couldn’t answer myself. I heard the words of my friend ring in my ears from two days before as we talked about what gives value to people. The longer I went without answering the question I posed to myself the more nervous I became. This then compounded with the fact that I was asking myself a question that I could not answer. I looked at the computer screen and wondered how many people have this same conversation with themselves. I then followed up with the question, “How many are sick enough to blog about a long, detailed conversation one had with himself?”
So where does our value come from? This is a question that I have to wrestle with each day. When I was in my early twenties God brought me into a world where I spoke to a lot of people on weekends. Some of those who were a part of the same faith community would compliment me for what I would say. In many ways what they thought gave me a sense of self-worth. The problem was when I left that particular church. Those people, while they genuinely loved me, no longer were giving me the value input I needed.
Consequently I had this value deficit. I did not know what to think about myself. This is just one way I have caught myself doing this over the years. I wait for others to tell me what I am worth. The problem is that men and women are far too picky to base our value upon. Beyond that, when I place value on a person it is often shallow.
We need to come to the place where we ascribe value to others and find value in ourselves from a much higher place than a platform in a church, several zero’s on a paycheck or through our feedback scores on eBay. Our value is simply this. We are shadows of God. We are his image. My value comes when I cultivate what has been given to me. I am only a little lower than the angels and God is mindful of me. I am called to co-author the story that God has written for me before the foundations of the earth were laid.
Together humanity occupies the central place on God’s mantle. God crafted men and women to be like, look like and feel like him. The problem is we have become so temporary in the way we think about life that we cannot think to exist in a world where we think about eternity. We think eBay but God thinks Kingdom of Heaven. We think feedback score but God thinks Imago Dei.
So there I was staring at my computer screen. I thought about my gold star. I was relieved that I was not overly happy about having this new thing behind my name. I did however contemplate how I find value and ascribe value to others. If value is derived through anything other than viewing myself and others as the craftsmanship of God than I am falling terribly short.