Catholic Husband

Love / Lead / Serve

You're Worth More than A Paycheck

At some point in our lives, we each ask ourselves the question, “What is my worth?"

Towards the end of my last job, I realized that my identity was starting to rely on the fact that I was working at that particular non-profit. I wasn’t a workaholic, I had just let my work gain too big of role in my self-esteem. So when times were tight at the company and pay raises didn’t come, I started to believe it was a result of poor work on my part. It was an unhealthy view to have of myself.

A man’s worth cannot be measured by the size of their paycheck or the loftiness of their title. Work is a part of who we are, but it’s a small part of our world. We are husbands, fathers, sons, uncles, nephews. We are members of our Parish, members of the Universal Church, members of our community. We are members of hobby groups, sports teams, and clubs.

You have intrinsic value simply because you are a human person. You have dignity. You bring value to those around you by just being who you are. You bring joy into people’s lives, you help others through your volunteerism, you help your company serve people through your work, you build up the Kingdom of God through your active participation in the Mass.

The value you bring to your wife certainly has everything to do with the amount of effort you put into your marriage. You give her support as a chef (part-time?), a driver, an errands runner, an exercise partner, a counselor, a sounding board, a listener, a best friend. You are worth so much more to her than the amount of money you bring in the door.

The value of your contributions to your family is based mainly on how much of yourself you’re willing to give. Be open to love and give everything you have and never doubt your self-worth again.