Inherent worth for everyone? (evolve, faith, divine)

[Kungfuzed]

We covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

Is it really true that everyone has inherent worth and dignity or is that what UU's are trying to give to everyone? I think a lot of people don't feel they are worth much. Many people are stuck in situations that aren't very dignified. Does everyone already have this worth and dignity or is UU trying to raise everyone to that level? The statement doesn't seem to quantify how much dignity and worth of a person. Are some people worth more than others?

[Rolling_Stone]

The difficulty is becoming the person we really are.

People today have to a great extent lost the capacity to affirm and believe in any value. Being well liked is central and “be yourself” is an excuse for inclining to the lowest common denominator. We tend to be performers in life rather than persons who live and act as selves. We are cowed into inaction by unconscious fears and anxieties or lose ourselves in whatever cause strikes our fancy. Language has lost its effectiveness: we have an excellent vocabulary for technical subjects, but when it comes to personal relations we are deaf and dumb. As human beings we have our roots the rhythm of a nature no clock can accommodate, but our lives revolve around the belief that the chemistry of our bodies is essentially the same as the elements of dirt and air. Trained over the course centuries with emphasis placed on rationality, uniformity and mechanics, we have repressed those aspects which do not fit those standards.

[Dunemeister]

Originally Posted by Rolling_Stone

The difficulty is becoming the person we really are.

People today have to a great extent lost the capacity to affirm and believe in any value. Being well liked is central and “be yourself” is an excuse for inclining to the lowest common denominator. We tend to be performers in life rather than persons who live and act as selves. We are cowed into inaction by unconscious fears and anxieties or lose ourselves in whatever cause strikes our fancy. Language has lost its effectiveness: we have an excellent vocabulary for technical subjects, but when it comes to personal relations we are deaf and dumb. As human beings we have our roots the rhythm of a nature no clock can accommodate, but our lives revolve around the belief that the chemistry of our bodies is essentially the same as the elements of dirt and air. Trained over the course centuries with emphasis placed on rationality, uniformity and mechanics, we have repressed those aspects which do not fit those standards.

Amen.

[Kungfuzed]

Perhaps I'm confusing inherent worth with perceived worth. It's not always easy to see inherent worth in someone. If worth is inherent then it should be in everyone. Its really a struggle to love my enemy.

[Heneni]

An enemy is percieved as such exactly because you sense that they do not believe in your inherent worth.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

Is it really true that everyone has inherent worth and dignity or is that what UU's are trying to give to everyone? I think a lot of people don't feel they are worth much. Many people are stuck in situations that aren't very dignified. Does everyone already have this worth and dignity or is UU trying to raise everyone to that level? The statement doesn't seem to quantify how much dignity and worth of a person. Are some people worth more than others?

UUs believe that everyone has inherent worth and dignity. It is the divine spark that dwells within us all. We're not trying to give it to people; people already have it. But we are trying to be better about recognizing it, and to get society to recognize it too.

As for whether it's "really true," it's a faith claim. I believe it to be true. I can't prove it.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

Perhaps I'm confusing inherent worth with perceived worth. It's not always easy to see inherent worth in someone. If worth is inherent then it should be in everyone. Its really a struggle to love my enemy.

No confusion. We're talking inherent worth. Yes, it is in everyone, including those you would consider your "enemies." Do you actually have "enemies?"

Originally Posted by Heneni

An enemy is percieved as such exactly because you sense that they do not believe in your inherent worth.

Or you do not believe in theirs.

[YmirGF]

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

Is it really true that everyone has inherent worth and dignity or is that what UU's are trying to give to everyone?

It is my perception that every single being is most worthy otherwise it is unlikely that they would exist.

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

I think a lot of people don't feel they are worth much. Many people are stuck in situations that aren't very dignified.

Given that there are ditch-diggers who know more about "god" than many whom are regarded as "holy" it would appear that physical "station" is irrelevant when considering worthiness. The idea that many do not feel they have any worth is a result of the peculiar focus of our society, as that worth is all too often equated with financial success. Trust me, I am a smile "billionaire".

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

Does everyone already have this worth and dignity or is UU trying to raise everyone to that level? The statement doesn't seem to quantify how much dignity and worth of a person. Are some people worth more than others?

I will have to take Lilithu's word for the position of UU's. It seems quite reasonable and harmless. I think what she is implying is the sentiment that if people do not feel any real worth, then perhaps our beliieving in them, in spite of that, just might begin to impact on their thinking. If I believe in you, then perhaps there is something there that the individual should sit back and ponder. Well if, so and so, thinks I have some worth, them maybe, just maybe, I do have some worth, after all. It is a small, but important step on the path to enlightenment. What many do not understand, for example, is they don't feel worthy of enlightenment and so make it some strange creature that is continually out of their grasp. It is a great pity, that that is so.

As to the quantity of worth, that is difficult to say, but as long as one is not too full of themselves and assume their point of view outstrips all others, then their measure of self-worth should be somewhat kept in perspective. Like faith, self-worth should never eclipse reason, because at that point one is sitting atop a very slippery slope.

In regards to the idea that any one person is worth more than another, the answer is no. All are equally representative of the One and none are more important than any around them. It is followers that make individuals important, for example, it is the awed respect of the people that give Queen Elizabeth her majesty. She doesn't actually radiate majesty, she's just a common woman, but people perceive her office and not her person, if you get my drift.

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

Perhaps I'm confusing inherent worth with perceived worth.

Quite possibly as there is an important difference.

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

It's not always easy to see inherent worth in someone.

No it isn't easy, to be honest, it is something we have to continually remind ourselves lest we forsake our humanity.

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

If worth is inherent then it should be in everyone. Its really a struggle to love my enemy.

I understand, but I have befriended my only existing "enemy". Though hardly good friends, we are no longer actively hostile. In rather generous moments, I have actually commented on the fact that he is very clever, not brilliant mind you, but exceedingly clever. My thinking is it is better to have such a person as a friend that as a loathing enemy.