> people must prove their value via an extraordinary work ethic

Ironically, this is the literal opposite of Christianity. Christianity in a nutshell is "Jesus saves people because we are incapable of saving ourselves."

In addition, people have intrinsic worth/value/identity because they are made in the image of God.

So, yeah. "Must earn their worth" may sound "Christian", but it's not Christianity.

Given where the world is headed, I'm starting to see the wisdom in that more and more.

You're understanding falls far short.

Jesus saves us from the final end destruction, and helps us who believe on him through our daily lives. Some people get along fine without religion. What happens to them when the final destruction (from God, not man) gets here depends on whether these people continue to do it all on their own and choose to not believe; or whether they choose to let him in and believe. In either case, Jesus is about the final end of humans which will be done by God and is outside our control, even outside Jesus' control; that is what Christianity is about.