Extracted or Redeemed: The Two Ways You Bring Value to the World

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” — 1 John 2:15–16

In this world, value flows in two directions: the value you create, and the value that’s extracted from you. While everyone contributes value, much of it is created by a world system that’s in active rebellion against God. This extractive value is dependent on disconnecting us from our source and purpose.

Think of the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt. After the Red Sea had parted, Egypt was behind them and they were physically free from the bondage of Pharaoh. But even though they escaped the land of oppression, they carried the mentality of the oppressed.

The Israelites had learned the rules of survival under Pharaoh’s system: meet quotas, accept rations, endure cruelty. It was inhumane, but predictable. In the wilderness, freedom felt unpredictable because they had been conditioned for generations to live under strict control and oppression. Stepping into freedom meant stepping into the unknown without familiar rules or guarantees, which bred fear and resistance. So despite the multiple miracles God did for them, they couldn’t over come the uncertainty of freedom. 

“If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat…” - Exodus 16:3
“Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” - Numbers 14:4

The desire to "go back to Egypt" reveals how deeply we cling to slavery. By forgetting their identity as a chosen people, heirs to a divine promise, and destined for the Promised Land, the Israelites longed to return to a life of extractive value. Slavery was their safety. 

Their value became extractive when they forgot who they were and let the world determine their identity. 

Extractive value is the process by which worth, energy, or resources are taken from a person without reciprocal replenishment or restoration. It’s the exploitation of human potential, attention, or identity in a way that benefits a system or institution at the expense of the one providing the value. It’s often characterized by disconnection from one’s true purpose. 

How does this manifest itself in today's world?

1. Processed & Toxic Food

Food manufacturers use cheap, unhealthy ingredients (high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, excessive salt) to keep costs low and create addictive flavors. This fuels chronic health problems like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, ensuring ongoing demand for pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, and diet industries.
We pay repeatedly through medical bills, medications, and reduced quality of life while food and medical companies profit from our weakened bodies.

2. Alcohol Consumption

The alcohol industry profits hugely from individuals seeking escape or relief from stress, loneliness, or trauma. Addiction cycles keep consumers buying more, while treatment centers and pharmaceutical companies benefit from related health issues. Social normalization of drinking masks the deep spiritual and emotional emptiness driving the habit.

3. Pornography

Porn industries exploit human sexuality and vulnerability to generate massive revenue through subscriptions, ads, and data sales. Users become trapped in cycles of addiction and shame, often without realizing the spiritual and relational damage caused.

4. Consumerism & Materialism

Advertising constantly stokes feelings of inadequacy, promising happiness through possessions, status, or brand loyalty. Retailers, credit card companies, and financial institutions benefit as people overspend, incur debt, and chase fleeting satisfaction.
This cycle deepens disconnection by focusing on external validation instead of internal wholeness.

5. Video Games & Digital Entertainment

Game developers design addictive mechanics (loot boxes, endless leveling, social competition) to maximize user engagement and spending. Streaming platforms and advertisers profit from viewers’ prolonged attention, often at the cost of mental health and productivity. The escapism provided can mask underlying spiritual or emotional voids, trapping users in passive consumption.

6. Social Media

Platforms use algorithms engineered to capture attention by exploiting emotional triggers (fear, envy, outrage, dopamine hits). Data brokers, advertisers, and tech giants monetize user behavior, selling targeted ads and personal information. Social media can foster comparison, anxiety, and loneliness, deepening spiritual disconnection and reducing real-world relationships.

7. Comfort & Convenience Industries

Fast food, ride-sharing, binge-watching, and online shopping reduce effort but increase dependence on services that profit from repeat use. This convenience often sacrifices physical activity, social interaction, and mindful living, draining energy and creativity.

8. False Idols & Ideologies

Cultural narratives push success, fame, control, and security as ultimate goals, distracting from true identity and purpose. 

Extractive value is the value that the world takes from you when you’re lost. It's parasitic, like a leech that convinces the fish it’s cleaning its scales. It’s designed to profit from your disconnection. Attention that should be given to God gets re-routed. In this model, you are the product and the more you forget who you are, the more valuable you become. This is the value of your enslavement, not of your freedom.

“They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”  — 2 Peter 2:19

In Egypt, the Pharaoh had to use whips and chains to keep the Israelites enslaved. Today, the chains are invisible. Enslavement comes through subtle control of how we think. 

The antithesis to extractive value is redemptive value. This is the true, God-given value that arises when you become whole. It’s creative, generative, and fruitful. It brings life and multiplies it. Instead of the world draining value from you, you contribute via your God-given purpose to the world and are rewarded accordingly. 

Redemptive value is the constructive contribution one makes by embodying their purpose in a way that benefits others and honors the divine intent of their life.

Made in the image of the Creator, we are meant to create. 

But redemptive value isn’t the result from striving and effort alone, but from embracing your true identity, as a purpose-built child of God. Redemptive value flows naturally from freedom, not bondage. You’ll notice it by its fruit of your labor returns to you exponentially.  

“A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before the great.”
— Proverbs 18:16

“You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.”
— Psalm 128:2

Redemptive value is perfectly embodied in Christ’s life and ministry. He owned no wealth, never wrote anything down, and never wielded force to achieve His mission. Instead, He selflessly gave Himself to healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and rescuing those trapped in spiritual bondage. Christ confronted and broke the chains of a corrupt world, choosing purpose over comfort and remaining deeply anchored in His identity as God’s beloved Son. Though His earthly ministry lasted only three years and began with just a dozen followers, His influence has since grown to impact billions. This is the essence of redemptive value, transformative, multiplying, and enduring across generations. 

Recognize what God has given you. 

God wanted the Israelites to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6) governed by love and justice. But freedom requires a harsh rejection of what the world teaches you. It requires listening to God directly, trusting His provision daily, and taking possession of the gifts that he has given you. Something the Israelites were not able to do. 

David’s gift was music and worship. The Psalms stand as a testament to that gift expressed through his mastery of the harp. Similarly, your “harp” represents your natural advantage that cannot be easily duplicated by others.

Joshua’s harp was his tactical genius. 

Samson’s harp was his physical strength

Paul’s harp was teaching and building churches. 

Peter’s harp was the ability to preach and speak in public. 

In his book How to Get Rich (without getting lucky), Naval Ravikant emphasizes the importance of finding your specific knowledge: a unique skill or capability that feels like play to you but looks like work to others. This is the "one ability" you can do better than anyone else because it is naturally aligned with who you are.

Here’s how Naval puts it:

“Specific knowledge is found by pursuing your genuine curiosity and passion rather than whatever is hot right now... Specific knowledge is often highly technical or creative. It cannot be taught, but it can be learned. It’s where you are naturally different from everyone else.” 

Here’s how redemptive value manifests itself in your life: 

1. Physical Health

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. - (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)

What we do with our bodies carries eternal weight. In the earliest days of the faith, there were no buildings or cathedrals. No “church” in the way we think of it today. The Church was the people themselves, living temples of the Holy Spirit, carrying the Good News wherever they went. The presence of God traveled not in stone walls but in the hearts, minds, and actions of Christ’s followers. Our bodies are vessels through which God works in the world. They are meant for redemptive value

2. Healing Presence & Encouragement

A healing presence is not only the absence of judgment, but the active choice to enter another’s pain without flinching and to point them toward the One who can restore. Encouragement is the intentional sowing of courage in someone else’s soul to remind them who they are in Christ when they have forgotten. This can be accomplished by listening deeply, speaking truthfully, and leaving people more aware of their worth in Christ than when you found them.

3. Generous Community

A generous community refuses to operate from scarcity. It resists the world’s instinct to hoard and self-protect, instead trusting that God’s resources will flow through open hands. In such a community, needs are met quickly, encouragement flows naturally, and each person is both a giver and receiver. True generosity redeems relationships because it shifts the focus from “What can I get?” to “How can I bless?”

4. Creative & Meaningful Work

Creative and meaningful work arises when we align our talents with God’s mission, producing fruit that blesses others and glorifies Him. It transforms ordinary labor into worship. It’s not driven by mere survival or external rewards, but by a deeper sense of purpose and identity as co-creators with God. It challenges us to innovate, serve, and steward our gifts responsibly.

5. Transformative Education

Transformative education is deliberate and holistic, engaging the mind, spirit, and emotions to help individuals perceive the world through God’s eyes. It depends on trusting relationships between teachers and students, as genuine connection opens hearts to change. This education fosters critical thinking by gently challenging assumptions and encouraging learners to wrestle with difficult questions, promoting curiosity over memorization. The teacher embodies the lessons with authenticity, knowing that living the message inspires transformation more than words alone. It emphasizes practical application and turning knowledge into action. Above all, it invites prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, acknowledging that true transformation is spiritual and rooted in God’s work.

This is the foundation of redemptive value. It’s only achievable by being sufficiently connected to God so that you can know what your specific knowledge or “harp” is. It also depends on whose image you wish to reflect. When the world extracts value from you, you are operating in the image of consumerism, insecurity, or sin. You reflect the world as it devours you. But when you bring redemptive value, you reflect the image of our God the Creator. You become a vessel of His abundance, and it flows through you to others.

God let an entire generation die in the desert not because they were weak, but because they refused to be free. So ask yourself:

1. Where is the world extracting value from me? (Where am I distracted, addicted, or asleep?)
   

2. Where am I multiplying value in others? (Where am I generous, aligned, and creative?)
   

3. Am I letting God turn my pain into power — or am I still being consumed by it?