One Man's Worth

"Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived.” –Thomas Paine

“The most dangerous stories we make up are the narratives that diminish our inherent worthiness.” –Brene Brown

I recently found out my friend and co-worker died at age 41. I sat next to him at work for almost two years. He was an awesome man and yet I’m not sure if he ever fully believed that he truly mattered. He worked at my company for eight years and three of those eight years he was the “Employee of the Year”. He was always willing to go above and beyond to help anyone at any time! I am grieving, deeply sad and I am angry. I am grieving and sad about his death. I am angry over the events that lead up to his death and the lies it appears he believed about himself.

There is still a lot of uncertainty as to how he died. I personally believe that he most likely took his own life. He was unjustly fired from his job just a few weeks prior to his death. Why was he fired? Apparently, it was because of “performance”, however, how could it really be “performance” if he was the number one performer among his peers? My experience with many corporate managers and staff workers is that very few actually care about the people they work with. Unfortunately, most managers and staff are so a-washed in their own personal troubles and selfish ambitions they really do not care what happens to those at work. Call it professional “collateral damage”, but in the end, who really cares? Most of corporate management in America is fear-based, lacks vulnerability and is narrow-minded. As a result most company staff are treated like “objects”, instead of people with incredible intrinsic value and worth.

My friend was so benevolent, kind, giving and willing to make someone’s life better that as a result many people took advantage of his selflessness. He struggled like us all with his own personal insecurities, anxieties and challenges. He was a good man and the world we live in today is less without him. Everyone believes both truth and lies about ourselves. What lies did my friend believe that overshadowed the truth of his own self-worth? How do you measure one man's worth? Is it based on (conditional-love) what he does for you? Or is there something deeper (unconditional love) that defines his value and worth? This is the central issue plaguing the workplace today, the lack of true intimacy (unconditional love) and care for each other. The workplace focus becomes hyper-fixated on results with a consistent undercurrent of fear of not performing, which leaves the employee feeling empty and used.

To say that my friend being unjustly “fired” from his job just a few weeks prior did not influence his death, would be a lie. He always strived to do his best and to give his all to his job. After all, it wasn’t an accident that he received the “Employee of the Year” award for three years in a row!! Simon Sinek perfectly says my friend's professional and personal mindset:"When we help ourselves, we find moments of happiness. When we help others, we find lasting fulfillment."

The level of fear that people are feeling now in the world with the pandemic is higher than ever. The consequences of the pandemic will leave our world crippled with fear for years to come. Mental illnesses and disorders of all kinds will spike. We are already beginning to feel it’s affects. People are incredibly resilient to suffering, however, everyone has their breaking point and threshold. This "breaking point" of suffering is something that typically fly's under the radar in the professional environment, because we are always supposed to be "professional", but that's not always real-life.

No one is guaranteed to live tomorrow. We only have today, so love your fellow brother or sister well! Treat people how you would as if God was really watching you, because He is! If you are a manager of any kind, treat and love your staff very well! They are worth it! Life is too short, so make the most of today. Forgive those who have hurt you, ask for forgiveness for those you have hurt. Tell someone in your life today that they matter, they are worth it, and they are awesome, because they are! The Bible says in Genesis 1:27: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” This means that you, me, and we all matter, have worth and great value! Regardless of gender, race or anything else as long as we have breath in our lungs every human has great value! Again, in Genesis 1:27 it says “God created mankind in his own image”. The “image” of God is not referring to solely a physical image, but just as both God and us are more than physical, it’s referring to a whole image reflecting a mind, a heart and a will. The image of God is having a mind that thinks, a heart that feels and a will that desires, this is what makes up our soul. We all have this and are made like God in this way, created equal with unbelievable intrinsic value and worth! We are soul's temporarily stewarding a body that will only last for a certain time, so make the most of today and love well!

God loves you so much! Today, if my friend and co-worker were alive, I would want him to know this more than anything. God's love for you is tremendous and He defines who you are, your value and worthiness! I did the best I knew how to communicate this to him while he was on this Earth. He loved helping people, race cars, corvettes, War World 2 history, excel spreadsheets and crunching numbers of all kinds! I dedicate this video below to him, which I believe perfectly displays both his sense humor and passion for driving! I pray he is with God now driving fast and free in heaven!