DIGNITY
No matter your story, Jesus comes to give you dignity. The devil comes to kill, steal, and destroy but Jesus comes that you may have life and that life is full of dignity. Without dignity you will never be happy or fulfilled. The Bible tells of people whose lives were wrecked. Some made terrible choices involving sexual sin, like the woman taken in adultery. Others had been abused, and still others had debilitating diseases like those in the story of the ten lepers. Jesus came to fix them, to restore them, and to give them back their dignity. Even the tormented man who lived naked among the tombs was given dignity. He was so demonized that he ripped his clothes, broke the chains that were meant to contain him, and cut himself with stones. When Jesus came, he was set free from evil spirits and the people saw him restored, sitting peacefully, and in his right mind. Jesus took his pain, his torment, and his anger, and gave him dignity. If you are a minister of the gospel, it is your job to give people dignity. The Bible says, “He restores my soul,” and you, as a minister, are to do what Jesus does – to restore people’s soul and give them dignity.
ALWAYS THE SAME MESSAGE
Even in the Old Testament, God gave people dignity. During the reign of King Saul the nation was in a mess. Jealousy drove the king to pursue David through the desert. His aim was to track him down and kill him. “David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam…All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him” 1 Sam. 22: 1-2.
It seems that some things have not changed; today there are a lot of people who are in distress or in debt or discontented. These four hundred men had been beaten down and they came to David to restore dignity to their nation, their families and to themselves. Today in America, Christians are rising to see dignity restored to the nation, their families and to themselves. Jesus always comes to bring dignity.
There are certain people to whom Jesus will give no dignity unless they repent and change their behavior. He does not give dignity to sexual perverts, child abusers or excessively proud people, like the Pharisees, who control others with religious dogma. He called controlling Pharisees, ‘whitewashed tombstones.’ Scripture tells us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Jesus said of child abusers, that they should have a huge rock tied around their necks and be thrown into the sea. These three groups of people, the arrogant proud, the child abusers and the sexual perverts are often at war against Holy Spirit-filled Christians. These groups of people are often aggressive toward godly people because they themselves lack inner dignity, yet they earnestly crave after it. They are tormented, and in retaliation they pour out their anger against those who will not give dignity to their ungodly behavior.
There is still hope, for it is not God’s will that any should perish. Repentance and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ is the only pathway for restoration and dignity. Without that dignity, they will always be deeply unhappy. I am glad that scripture teaches that God gives faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love, but hope is a God-given grace as well, and this anointing is for those who have fallen so far that they lost everything. In Christ, there is always hope.
Dignity can also be missing because of certain dispositions we may find ourselves in. 1. We can lose dignity when we are under constant attack and become excessively weary from the battle. 2. Deep sorrow from the loss of a loved one can cause such pain that we cannot find our own worth and dignity. 3. Our own failures may also cause us to lose dignity, when we become so negatively analytical of ourselves that we lose confidence. 4. Loneliness can cause us to feel empty and valueless and can cause us to lose dignity. 5. Abuse will bring feelings of worthless and cause us to be undignified. Being removed from an abusive situation and finding our healing in Christ is necessary and even essential if our dignity is to be restored.
These 5 dispositions that I have mentioned can rob us of dignity, but God’s love is more powerful that any trauma we may suffer. Jesus will restore your soul. Dignity is a quality of being which is worthy of honor and respect, and you need it. Here are 5 things you can do that will restore your soul to a place of dignity:
- Find Atonement: That is the forgiveness and covering of Christ. It comes as you repent of your sins, confess Christ as your Lord, and receive His salvation through faith.
- Find Healing: Forgive those who have hurt you, renounce contacts with any kind of witchcraft, and receive prayer for the healing of your soul from Holy Spirit ministers.
- Find a Place to Serve with God’s People: Become part of a Holy Spirit church and serve. Your service is unto God, and will help bring you purpose, so do it freely and with gladness.
- Find a Church Family and Belong: Church is not just a place where you go for worship and teaching; it should become your family. You should make friends, spend time together, and be connected as family with God’s people.
- Find Significance: Your life should count for something. Look to be part of a ministry or mission that makes a godly difference in the lives of others. In time, God will promote you and bring additional fruit and more opportunities to help bring dignity to other people.
Dignity comes from God. It is His focus and grace for humanity, and it should be our focus as well. In Christ, you find dignity for yourself; then, you should always look for ways to give dignity to others. By doing this, you will be greatly blessed and you’ll become an amazing blessing to others.
We pray our monthly teaching
devotional empowers & inspires you
to live a supernatural Christian life.
DR. PETER WYNS
Founder & President
Christian for Messiah Ministries
Pastor at Antioch International Church
Instructions in Righteousness is produced by “Christians for Messiah Ministries” (CFM). Dr. Peter Wyns is the President of CFM and the Head Pastor of Antioch International Church. He has served as a pastor for 54 years and ministered in more than 45 nations.
One Comment
Tommy lopez February 15, 2024
I liked the teaching on dignity. However did I miss the basic definition of dignity? I am not really sure it was defined on the entire discussion. You might say you know what it is when you see it, or don’t see it, but what is the actual definition of dignity?