Keith & Kristyn Getty (Feat. Fernando Ortega) – My Worth Is Not in What I Own

Keith Getty became active in 1995 and is best known for his song In Christ Alone, co-written with Stuart Townend.  He helped orchestrate several McDonald’s commercials and for Music from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy before assisting Christian artists such as Michael W. Smith and Natalie Grant.

Keith met Kristyn Lennox in 2002, introduced by her uncle Christian apologist and Oxford professor John Lennox.  Together, they released two albums under their former group name, Keith Getty and Kristyn Lennox.  These include Tapestry (2002) and New Irish Hymns 2: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (2003).  They married in 2004.

Under their current name, Keith and Kristyn Getty, they released fourteen albums and one EP, including:

• New Irish Hymns 3: Incarnation (2004)
• New Irish Hymns 4: Hymns for the Life of the Church (2005)
• Songs That Jesus Said (2005)
• The Apostles’ Creed (2006)
• Modern Hymns Live (2006)
• In Christ Alone (2007)
• Keswick Live (2008)
• Awaken the Dawn (2009)
• Joy – An Irish Christmas (2011)
• Hymns for the Christian Life (2012)
• Modern and Traditional Hymns: Live at the Gospel Coalition (2013)
• Facing A Task Unfinished (2016)
• The North Coast Sessions (2018)
• His Mercy Is More (2019)
• Resurrection – EP (2020)

Also, check out my review of In Christ Alone and Christ Our Hope in Life and Death.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Keith-and-kristyn-getty-my-worth-is-not-in-what-i-own-at-the-cross-lyrics.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

In the economical sense, value is determined by the price one is willing to pay for it.  For example, if I am prepared to pay $1 million for a pen, then it has $1 million worth of economic value to me.  Conversely, if I’m prepared to pay nothing for it, then it has no value to me.

How valuable are the Getty’s to Jesus?  What price was He willing to pay to redeem them?  He paid the highest price that He could: He bore their sins and shame, dying a shameful and disgraceful death at the hands of evil men.

The most remarkable thing about Christ’s sacrifice is what He got for it.  The sum of Getty’s works are what Scripture calls “filthy rags”.  The rags in question were culturally understood to be bloody, mental rags that were unclean, unuseful, and thrown away.  In other words, they hold no inherent value.  Did God overpay for what He received?  He doesn’t think so!

This wondrous mystery, that the Getty’s received such undeserved favor, eternal life with God, is their joy.  The God who saved them is their most treasured possession, who provides living water that quenches their thirsty souls.  Their boast and trust will be in nothing else.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

[Verse 1]

Lines 1 and 2: God does not value us based on the Getty’s riches or ability because the sum of their works are dirty rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Lines 3 and 4: The Getty’s are so valued by God that He was willing to pay for their sins (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-4: Rewords the same points as Verse 1, lines 1-4.

[Refrain]

Line 1: The Getty’s respond to God’s incredible sacrifice with rejoicing.

Line 2: All other treasures pale in comparison to knowing Jesus (Philippians 3:8).

Line 3: References living water that satiates the Getty’s (Jeremiah 17:13, Zechariah 14:8-9, John 4:7-26, John 7:37-39, Acts 2:1-13, Revelation 6:9-11, Revelation 7:13-17, Revelation 21:6-7, and Revelation 22:1-5).

Line 4: It is better to trust in God than men (Psalm 40:3-4, Psalm 118:8-9, Psalm 146:3, Proverbs 3:5-6).

Line 5: See line 2.

[Verse 3]

Lines 1 and 2: The ultimate statistic: except Enoch (Hebrews 11:5) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11), 10 out of 10 people die (Hebrews 9:27).

Lines 3 and 4: The Getty’s attain eternal life because of Jesus’ sacrifice (Mark 10:29-30, John 3:15-16, John 3:36, John 4:14, John 5:24, John 5:39-40, John 6:27, John 6:40, John 10:28, John 17:3, John 20:31, Romans 5:21, Romans 6:22-23, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Galatians 6:8, 1 Timothy 1:16, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 2:11, Hebrews 5:9, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 John 2:23-27, 1 John 5:10-13, 1 John 5:20, Jude 1:20-21, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 7:16-17, and Revelation 21:3-4).

[Verse 4]

Lines 1-4: Summarized in Jeremiah 9:23-24, the latter portion, that ” let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord” references Christ as the Getty’s boast in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 and 2 Corinthians 10:14-18.

[Verse 5/Bridge]

Lines 1 and 2: The Getty’s are perplexed at the stark contrast, that they deserve eternal separation from God (Matthew 18:8, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43, Jude 1:7, Revelation 14:11, and Revelation 20:10) and received undeserved favor from God (Genesis 15:6, Exodus 33:19, Psalm 32:1-2, Romans 3:21-24, Romans 4:3-8, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 5:6-8, Romans 5:15-21, Romans 6:14, Romans 8:1-4, Romans 9:14-16, Romans 11:5-6, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 3:6, Galatians 5:4, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 2:4-9, 2 Thessalonians 2:16, Titus 2:11, 1 Timothy 1:15-16, and James 2:23).

Lines 3 and 4: See Verse 1, lines 3 and 4.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Ther Getty’s mix everyday language with some Christianese that makes interpretation easy for unbelievers.  They will immediately conclude that:

• The Getty’s God shows that they value them through Jesus’ crucifixion.
• The Getty’s are unworthy.
• The Getty’s value their God and trusts in nobody else.
• The Getty’s will receive eternal life.
• The Getty’s boast is in Jesus.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God through exalting the Getty’s undeserved worth shown through Christ’s payment for sins, their expression of gratitude and praise, that they trust in nobody but Jesus, and willingness to boast about it.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Keith & Kristyn Getty’s My Worth Is Not in What I Own is an incredible song.  Its message is that wicked, dirty, undeserving, wretched sinners deserve eternal separation from God.  Yet, we are so valued and loved by God that He would pay for our lawbreaking through sacrifice.  This perplexing dichotomy is a source of awe, adoration, and hope for the Getty’s.  Jesus is their greatest treasure, living water, and confidence.  The Getty’s put their trust in no other, receiving everlasting life.  Its lyrics are easy for unbelievers to comprehend and bring glory to God.

Sing this one from your rooftops, in your streets, and during corporate worship services.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: My Worth Is Not in What I Own (listen to the song)

Artist: Keith & Kristyn Getty (Feat. Fernando Ortega)

Album: Facing A Task Unfinished (Live)

Genre: Hymn

Release Year: 2016

Duration: 4:34

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Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.