Have you ever watched Antique Roadshow? Launched in the 1997, this well-known PBS show invites antique owners to bring in items to be appraised by experts. The backstory of the items vary widely. In some cases, it is an item that has been passed down for generations. In other cases, it is something someone found in their parents’ or grandparents’ garage. There are even times when the item in question was picked up at a yard sale. However, regardless of how they came in possession of the item, the antique owners all have the same question: how much is it worth?

If you have watched the show before, you have observed the drama of this moment. The antique owner patiently waits as the antique expert explains the history of the item. It is always remarkable to me how much they seem to know about what appears to be a random object to me. From the year it was made to who made it to what makes it unique, or sometimes not so unique, they are able to paint a detailed picture that brings life to the item. In the end, the final detail they provide is the appraisal. It is the moment everyone has been waiting for: how much is it worth?

As the expert shares their opinion on the value of the item, it is always interesting to watch the face of the owner. Based on their expression, you can get a feel for whether or not the appraised value of their antique matches their perceived value. Sometimes, you get the sense that it is in range with what they thought as they nod their head and smile. Other times it seems to blow them away. These are the episodes that I love.

The owner picked up the item for $25 at a yard sale. It was just sitting on a table with other things the host of the yard sale no longer wanted. It didn’t appear to be anything special to most people, but something about it just stuck out to them. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, they purchased the item, wondering if it might be worth $100 or $200. They saw value in it where others didn’t, but even they didn’t know what they were actually buying. It isn’t until the Antique Roadshow expert says that, what they stumbled across at a yard sale, is actually a rare antique valued at $10,000 that they realize the item’s true, inherent worth. The look of shock and joy on their face as they digest this news is priceless.

Over the past several posts (click here to read the posts), I have been exploring the concept of thriving. I have looked at the role someone or somethings environment plays in its ability to thrive. I have talked about the importance of the lenses through which you view your Creator and yourself. When we understand that we were created on purpose and for a purpose by a God who loves us, and can start to see ourselves the way He sees us, we begin to live a life that reflects our God-given potential. Really, it comes back to the same question the antique owners have on Antique Roadshow: how much am I worth? Much like the overlooked antique, we are worth far more than we realize.

Now, what if we took that same lens and turned in on others? In other words, what if we saw others the way God sees them? How would that change the value we assign them and the way we treat them? This is where we rejoin the journey toward thriving.

In the Gospel of Luke from the New Testament of the Bible, Luke records a parable Jesus gave. You can read the entire interaction and story in the 10th chapter of Luke. In the parable, which is a story with a point, Jesus describes a man who has been robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road. He then introduces three characters who encounter this injured man. The first two, a priest and a religious person who serves in the temple, see the man and decide they are too busy and important to assist him. Basically, they decide he is hopeless and treat him accordingly. The third man, a Samaritan who would have been seen as a outcast and the least likely to help the injured man, to the shock of the listening crowd, not only checks on the injured man but takes it upon himself to ensure he recovers. This brilliant story told by Jesus is worth reading.

There is much to learn from Jesus’ story, but I want to focus on one particular piece. What made the Samaritan stop and assist the injured man? There could be a number of answers to that question, but in the end I believe it comes back to the value he assigned him. Where others saw hopelessness, the Samaritan saw hope. Where others saw something worthless, he saw someone of great worth. Why? Because he was viewing the injured man through the lens of the God who created him. Was their brokenness? Yes. Was that what truly defined the injured man? No. He was assigned a value by the “Expert” who loved him and created him on purpose and for a purpose. By using this perspective, the Samaritan saw someone worthy of his time and investment. He looked beyond the brokenness to see the injured man’s God-given potential.

What if we took the same approach? What if we decided to use the “Expert’s” lens to view others, especially those we often see as broken and hopeless? Much like Antique Roadshow, it is the Expert’s opinion of someone’s value that really counts, except in this case the Expert is also the Creator. Why wouldn’t we use the Creator’s lens to view the people He created?

In my experience, when we start to view others through this lens everything changes. We are far more willing to invest in someone we see as valuable and full of hope. This new perspective compels us to take steps to help others reach their God-given potential and thrive. How much better would the world be if more people started to live this way? If each of us started to live this way? I believe we all would live more hope-filled, thriving lives.

Are you still unsure if God sees you and others as valuable? You have to look no further than Easter, which we celebrate in the coming weeks, to gain clarity. Like the Good Samaritan in the story, Jesus was unwilling to walk by you despite your brokenness. He could see your God-given potential and was willing to die on your behalf, and on the behalf of the people around you, so that you could experience the life for which you were created.

On Easter, we remember that God was willing to pay the ultimate price for our lives. That is how valuable we are to the God who created us.

So, which lenses will we use to see ourselves and others? Our ability to thrive, both individually and collectively, will be dependent on our answer. As we choose to live lives that reflect God’s perspective, the world and the people who live in it will be different because of it.

This is what it means to thrive.

James Belt

Click here​ for more information on my book Hope Realized and resources to help you bring hope to others!