What Are You Worth?
by Royce
“You were bought at a price.”
— 1 Corinthians 6:20
On March 4, 2026, Apple announced the MacBook Neo — its most affordable MacBook, starting at $599.
The tech world did a double take.
Here was a machine running the A18 Pro chip — the same processor inside the iPhone 16 Pro, which retails at $999. Same silicon. Same neural engine. Same AI capabilities. But packaged into a full laptop with a 13-inch Retina display, a keyboard, and macOS — for $400 less.
Think about that for a second. The Neo has the same chip — plus a bigger screen, a full keyboard, a desktop OS, and a durable aluminum chassis. Yet it costs $400 less than the iPhone 16 Pro.
The difference isn’t the silicon — it’s the story Apple has built around the iPhone. Value is not set by the cost of production. Value is set by what a buyer is willing to pay.
Sit with that for a moment — and then turn it toward yourself.
Because God did not price you according to your production cost.
He did not calculate your worth by your outputs, your revenue, your team size, or your track record. He did not run a market comparison or benchmark your performance against your peers. He looked at you and set a price — and the price He chose was His own Son.
Not a discount offering. Not a provisional bid. A full and final payment.
Jesus left the comfort of glory for the constraints of a human body. He exchanged the honor of heaven for the mockery of a borrowed trial, a borrowed robe, a borrowed tomb. He endured flogging, humiliation, and crucifixion — not as a last resort, but as a deliberate act of valuation. And when He rose, He did not erase the evidence. The holes remained. Eternal wounds in a resurrection body — the permanent record of what He was willing to pay for you.
For you.
The cross is not primarily a story about sin management. It is a story about worth. It is God publicly, permanently, and painfully declaring what He believes you are valued at.
Here is where marketplace leaders often get tangled.
We are trained to derive our worth from what the market tells us. Revenue validates us. Promotions confirm us. Network size reassures us. We carry our credentials the way Apple carries the iPhone — as the premium tier, the signal of real value.
But the market changes its mind. Valuations drop. Industries shift. The very metrics that made you feel worthy last year can be irrelevant by next quarter.
God’s pricing doesn’t fluctuate.
The cross was not a venture bet that might be revised in Series B. It was a finished transaction. “It is finished” — tetelestai — the Greek word used to stamp a debt as paid in full. No renegotiation. No conditions. No performance review before the payment clears.
You are not valuable because of what you produce. You are valuable because of what He paid.
Reflection
- Where in your work or leadership are you still secretly trying to earn a worth that has already been assigned to you? What would it look like to lead from that settled place instead?
- If the cross is God’s public declaration of your value — how does that change the way you treat yourself in seasons of failure, transition, or professional invisibility?
Prayer
Father, I confess I have let the market tell me what I am worth — and I have believed it too easily, both when it flattered me and when it diminished me. Settle me today in the price You already paid. Let me lead, create, and rest from a place of established worth — not one I am still trying to prove. Amen.