― Criss Jami
The word worthiness is defined as:
Use Worthiness in a sentence [wur-th
ee] Show IPA adjective, wor·thi·er, wor·thi·est. 1. having adequate or great merit, character, or value: a worthy successor. 2. of commendable excellence or merit; deserving: a book worthy of praise; a person worthy to lead. noun, plural wor·thies. 3. a person of eminent worth, merit, or position: The town worthies included two doctors. Origin: 1175–1225; Middle English; see worth1 , -y We make a big deal of worthiness but it is always defined by outward signs of piety rather than internal signs, progress and righteousness. Jesus said to the Pharisees that did much the same thing of defining righteousness and cleanliness by outward signs rather than the internal ones, He said: 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23:25-28
He also said that the Kingdom of God is within you. So if we access that divine spark in our soul we unlock the Kingdom and let it flow through us to others. By thinking that worthiness is accessed by checking off boxes on a list you are on an unhealthy path, there is nothing to be gained by shaving, getting a short hair cut and wearing a suit.
Some may think that the homless, the prisoners, the non-Mormons are lesser when in fact they may have a closer relationship to God based on their reliance on Him during their trials and tribulations.
Jesus doesn't care about how many Bible verses you know, he cares about how you treat, how you love His children. Especially those you may think do not matter.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Matthew 25:34-46
Jesus said by their love shall His disciples be known. He gave us two commandments above all others to follow.
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40
So the bottom line is that The Lord seems to feel that with repentance and a humble attitude you are ready to be a disciple, you are worthy because you are a child of God created in His image. And when you act with love and faith you may open minds, soften hearts and be a light to all.
The moon is visible and bright only because it reflects the Sun and likewise as children of God when we reflect His light we light the way for others.
By defining worthiness as it is done today, that definition hinges on outward signs and as Jesus said " They may be beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and uncleanliness."
But if you are clean from the inside out, you will be beautiful both inside and out. And how you treat people, especially when you get nothing out of it or when those you help are of a lower class, is what's really going to test your metal and prove whether or not you're true to the commandment to love your neighbor.
The Pharisees often complained that Jesus treated sinners with compassion and respect because to those legalistic, outwardly judging religious elitists, sinners were nt worthy and Jesus minstering to them was proof He was a fraud.
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Luke 5:32
Jesus said the healthy need no doctor but the sick do. And He is that Physician healing the infirmed, and forgiving the sinners and inspiring them to go and sin no more.
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 18:10-14
Jesus was cool with this sinner at the Temple yet He was not ok with the Pharisee. This is a good case for why outward sings of righteousness are only acceptable to men whose philosophy mingled with scripture do not measure up to what Christ preached.
Others may make you feel unworthy but as long as you keep the two commandments Jesus gave us to guide us through life so that we may obey the spirit of the law and know whatever the circumstances are, we are headed down the right path.
Those two commandments uphold every one of the 613 commandments of Mosaic law. When the spirit is clean all else is clean as well.
We are all children of God created in His image, we are worth more that the rest of creation to Him, we are the reason for creation. We are worthy of love and forgiveness. Our forgiveness was worth Jesus' Atonement and death. Jesus gave His life for us, how could any of us be unworthy of His sacrifice?
