Week 9: Self-worth

A few notes to the leader...

The increasing pervasiveness of technology really muddies the waters on several of the topics
we’ve touched on in this study, but none so much as self-worth. Girls are seeing photoshopped
images of models at younger and younger ages and therefore are feeling pressure to diet, lose
weight, and struggle with eating disorders at younger and younger ages. It’s not just with beauty
either; the pressure is growing to be smarter, funnier, more athletic, more talented, etc. Social
media doesn’t help in the fight either (see below), as they're constantly pressured to post more
interesting content, get more followers, and more likes. We as the church know that our worth
does not come from these things and need to do what we can to nip this problem in the bud! A
few things to keep in mind as you prepare:
v Not all girls struggle with body image, but most have some kind of insecurity (not being
smart, funny, or talented enough). Try to address a wide variety of insecurities in this study.
v This is another area that intersects with social media (especially instagram). This post is
excellent and really highlights the relationship between social media and self-worth issues.
Bring social media up to your girls and see how it affects their self-worth.
v Make sure girls know this is a safe place to admit their struggles, questions, etc. Let them
know they are not alone!

Get into it!

Media Idea: Dove Evolution. Watch the Dove evolution video. A lot of times we are told by other
people, by the media, and by our culture what "beauty" is, but like we saw in the video, no one can
live up to those standards, not even models and celebrities (if you need more examples, just
google "photoshopped celebrities" and you will find a treasure trove of distorted beauty images).
Pictures of “beautiful people” often have an enormous amount of work and photoediting done to
them. How does this change your idea of what beauty really is? Does this make you
feel better about your own im perfections? How do you think God defines beauty?

Another Media idea: Gold. Watch this video of the song "Gold" by Britt Nicole. Ask, W hat
does this song talk about? W hat does this song say about your worth? W hat does
it say about how God sees you? (other great songs on this topic: “Made” by Hawk Nelson,
“Wanted” by Dara Maclean, and “Beautiful” by Bethany Dillon)

Reading idea: Rediscovered. Several posts on the "Body Image and Beauty" page of
Rediscovered would go really well with this lesson. Check a few of them out.
Intro
W hat is an insecurity? W hat is one thing you are insecure about? There are so many
different things that we get insecure about. Looks, intelligence, humor, talents—even specific
things like freckles, acne, weight, or braces. We are complex people. There are so many aspects
of ourselves we can doubt and feel self-conscious about. But all of those are aspects we can give
to God. We can see His plan for our looks, our personality, our talents, our smarts.

Today we’re going to talk about our self-worth, how we see the person we are. What’s important
to remember is that we don’t get to decide the truth about ourselves. God created us and what He
says about us is the truth. And from the passage that we’re going to read today, we’ll see that
that’s a good thing.

Ask: Do you have any questions or anything to say about what you read in your
notebook this week? Did you learn anything new or read anything that didn't m ake
sense to you? If you're not getting much feedback, ask specific questions about what was in the
notebook.

Passage: Psalm 139:13-18

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
Teach it!
Today's Bible passage teaches that...

God made you personally...and He did a good job. (vs. 13-15)

v Verse 13 says He knit you together. You weren't thrown together. You didn't just happen.
You were made, created with care by God.
v You are wonderfully complex. All your quirks, your personality, and your looks are part of
the million different things that make you who you are. And God made you that way on
purpose!
v Do you ever talk bad about yourself? Do you know others who talk bad
about them selves? How do you think that m akes God feel when He put so
much tim e into creating you?
v Verse 14 says that God's workmanship is marvelous. Look at the other girls in your group
and say "You are marvelous, darling." (should be pronounced like "mah-vel-us" and "dah-
ling.")
v Think about all that has to happen for you to be living right now. Your lungs are working,
inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. Your heart is pumping every second, moving
blood through your entire body, allowing it to keep on moving and working. Your brain is
sending a million tiny messages all over your body to tell it to move, to breathe, to talk, to
work. Your eyes are blinking, your hair is growing, your muscles are moving. All this is
taking place without your even realizing it. God is doing all this for a reason. He created you
and is keeping you alive because . . .

God has a specific plan for your life. (vs. 16)

v He had a plan for you before you were born. He knew what each day and each moment
would hold for you. This should convince you that you were created for a purpose.
v You are not a mistake on any level. God made you the way that you are for a reason.
v If that's true, W hat should we be spending our tim e doing instead of
com plaining about the way we are? Maybe we should be doing what God created
us to do!
v W hat are som e things that you know God created you to do? W hat are som e
things you can do that no one else can?

Your worth comes from this fact: You are precious to God (vs. 17-18)
v No matter how beautiful you feel or don't feel, whether you feel talented or smart or funny,
your worth doesn't come from any of that.
v Your worth also doesn’t come from how many friends you have, how many likes you get
on instagram, or what group you’re in at school. While you may feel popular, while you may
 feel good when your picture gets a lot of likes, and while you may have a lot of friends,
those are all false senses of security and are not where your real worth comes from.
v W here does your worth com e from ?
v We are sinners by nature, we are not "good people" on our own. We've taken God's
creation (including ourselves) and tried to mess it up, but we can't mess anything up to the
point where God can't make it right again. God still loves us, still cares for us, and still
values us individually. Because of that, He made a way for us to have a right relationship
with Him. He redeemed us and is restoring us and all creation back to the way it's
supposed to be.
v The God who created everything thinks about you more than you could know and is
always with you. How would your view of yourself change if you really
understood that?

What do we get out of it?

Buy a few handheld mirrors. Flat ones with a handle like they use in salons would be best. Bring
markers, glue, stickers, anything to decorate and have the girls write the HCSB version of today's
verse on the back of the mirror: "I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully
made. Psalm 139:14" Explain to girls that now every time they see this mirror and look at
themselves, they can remember that God took great care in making them, values them
unbelievably, and has a special plan for their lives.

If you get one thing from this week, get this: No matter how you feel about
yourself, God made you personally and says that you are valuable.