But too many carry it over to life. Whole civilizations, not the least of which the one I talk about a lot in this blog, have been built around the value assigned to a soul based on its place in society. You were born into the slave "place" ? You are value-less.

By God's grace, heaven does not view things this way, unless one wants to quote the theological truth that if any man's place is "in Christ", he is a new creation. Utterly valuable. Because of Jesus.

For certain, place does not equal value once one is in the Kingdom. If the Spirit of God endows one with 2 gifts, and another with 5, Heaven, that did the endowing, does not assign more value to greater giftedness, but rather to faithfulness.

The old "woman's place is in the home" adage is taken in a negative way by almost all who hear it. That's because we assume that home-women are less valuable, and that men who want their women at home must be making a value judgment. Some are. Some aren't.

Of those who are, some are assigning a higher value to a mother and wife, and of course that is not true either. Value is not gift- or gender- or race- oriented. Value comes from the first day we were created, when God pronounced us all good. Not denying what happened a couple chapters later, only saying that value and place aren't the same thing.

Paul encouraged masters and servants alike to be faithful. Men and women have seriously differing roles and rules but are equally valuable. The old and the young, ditto. Even nations and nationals vary greatly, and God says He can use their diversity without tampering with their worth.

We are told to hold fast that which we have, not that which someone else has. To be faithful to our death. Not to bury anything. The prizes are given out to the "good and faithful servants," not to the "good and valuable" ones.