Hymn Guide: My Worth is Not in What I Own
“My Worth is Not in What I Own” is a contemporary hymn about the surpassing worth of Christ and his cross. It references the many good things of this world—including possessions, strength, skill, and reputation—but rejects them as the basis of personal worth. Instead, it fixes our value in the unconditional love of Christ, our “greatest treasure.”
The hymn was composed in 2014 by Keith and Kristyn Getty. In its focus on Christ, it bears a number of similarities to “In Christ Alone,” composed in 2001 by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. However, whereas “In Christ Alone” can be sung in any season, “My Worth” is especially compelling in Lent, Holy Week, and alongside any teaching on greed or generosity.
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Verse by Verse
Structurally, the hymn features two double verses, a repeating chorus, and a final single verse that functions like a bridge back to the chorus.
Verses 1 & 2
My worth is not in what I own
Not in the strength of flesh and bone
But in the costly wounds of love
At the cross
My worth is not in skill or name
In win or lose, in pride or shame
But in the blood of Christ that flowed
At the cross
The opening line offers a striking statement about where our personal worth is NOT to be found. Our value does not lie in our possessions, nor, we read in the next line, does it lie in our human strength. The reference to “flesh and bone” not only describes human strength but also points forward to the body of Christ and his “costly wounds of love,” where we find our true worth.
These ideas represent a poetic expansion of Paul’s teaching to the Philippians:
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.
Philippians 3:8
Paul reflects here on everything he has given up, especially from his life as a prominent and respected Pharisee, to gain Christ. As a Pharisee, Paul had what the second verse of the hymn calls “skill” and “name.” And Paul was certainly “winning” in his contest with the Christians, full of “pride” in his persecution and his sense of superior righteousness. But Jesus humbled Paul and converted him, so that he would find his value only “in the blood of Christ that flowed / at the cross.”
Chorus
I rejoice in my Redeemer
Greatest Treasure, Wellspring of my soul
I will trust in Him, no other.
My soul is satisfied in Him alone.
Instead of rejoicing in our own possessions, we rejoice in Jesus our “Redeemer.” This substitution involves no loss. Instead of the fading possessions of this life, we take hold of Christ as our “Greatest treasure,” the only possession we can retain in every season of life, and even beyond this life to the next.
The reference to Christ as our “greatest treasure” is reminiscent of “Be Thou My Vision,” especially in the closing couple of its third verse: “Thou and thou only first in my heart / High king of heaven, my treasure thou art.” The Gettys live in Nashville but come from Northern Ireland, so it’s unsurprising to find a resonance with a classic Irish hymn!
Verses 3 & 4
As summer flowers we fade and die
Fame, Youth and beauty hurry by
But life eternal calls to us
At the crossI will not boast in wealth or might
Or human wisdom’s fleeting light
But I will boast in knowing Christ
At the cross
Verses 3 and 4 explore the question of worth in the expanded contexts of fame, youth, beauty, and wisdom. Here again, none of these earthly goods can provide lasting value to our lives. The key image is the “summer flower,” which “fades and dies.” Yes, the summer flower is good and beautiful and lovely in its time, but it does not last. What does last is the love of God in Christ.
We find similar language in Psalm 103:
As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children.
Psalm 103:15-17
Notice that the language of the Psalms anticipates the language of Paul and the New Testament; God’s “steadfast love” is the constant across time, fulfilled and set forth most powerfully at the cross.
Chorus
I rejoice in my Redeemer
Greatest Treasure, Wellspring of my soul
I will trust in Him, no other.
My soul is satisfied in Him alone.
By the time the chorus repeats, we have considered many worldly goods, but repeatedly rejected them in favor of Christ. In the chorus, we deliberately turn to Christ as the ultimate object of trust and source of satisfaction.
Here I’d like to consider an objection. To some, this repeated listing of human goods, only to reject them in favor of Christ, might seem to be an overly harsh condemnation of the world.
My response is that the only way to enjoy the goods of this world fully is to put them in their proper (limited) place. Without Christ, the world’s goods become idols as we seek our ultimate happiness in them. But with Christ, we can freely enjoy the good things of the world, knowing that when they inevitably fade, our souls will remain satisfied in Christ.
Verse 5 & Final Chorus
Two wonders here that I confess
My worth and my unworthiness
My value fixed—my ransom paid
At the cross
I rejoice in my Redeemer
Greatest Treasure, Wellspring of my soul
I will trust in Him, no other.
My soul is satisfied in Him alone.
Verse 5 is a single verse that functions as a bridge to the final chorus. It begins by dwelling on the cross, which sets forth both our “worth” and our “unworthiness.” On the one hand, the necessity of the cross shows forth our unworthiness, that we cannot save ourselves. But on the other hand, Christ’s free gift of himself shows forth our worth, our “value fixed” in the “ransom” that he “paid.”
Observing this gift of Christ, we are ever more motivated to make him the center and “wellspring of our soul.” When we see his loveliness and the beauty of his sacrificial love, our souls turn from worldly goods and find their satisfaction “in him alone.” In him, we find the deep motivation to abandon our idolatries and to practice sacrificial giving of our own.
Comparison with In Christ Alone
This hymn bears a number of similarities to “In Christ Alone,” the original and most famous of the Getty hymns. Both hymns emphasize the exclusivity of Christ above all other earthly goods. (And the final words of this hymn are “In him alone!”)
However, there is also a key difference between the two hymns. “In Christ Alone” takes a narrative approach, using each verse to tell a different moment in the story of Christ. “My Worth,” by contrast, takes an ethical approach. It repeatedly identifies the human goods we might be tempted to make our chief value and repeatedly turns back to Christ. Where “In Christ Alone” tells the story of Jesus’ life, “My Worth” tells the story of our lives in Christ.
Therefore, these two hymns are best seen as complementary reflections on the same theme. In certain settings, it would be appropriate and profitable to sing both, for example, beginning with “In Christ Alone” and concluding with “My worth is not in what I own.” This structure mirrors a typical letter from Paul, with theological reflection in the body and ethical application at the end.
On Video
The first video features guest singer Fernando Ortega performing live with the Gettys and ensemble. The second is a simpler version with solo guitar, sung by Lindsay Kirkland of Sounds Like Reign.
View more by Pcess609 from pcess609, courtesy of Canva. Digitally edited by Jacob Davis.
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