“Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you worth than they?” Matthew 6:26
Sometimes we can see the value in other people or other things, yet we struggle to find it in ourselves.
This might have been the motivation behind a speaker who started his seminar by holding up a crisp twenty-dollar bill. He asked the room full of people if anyone wanted the bill. Of course, most every hand went up.
Then, he crumpled the bill, wadding it up and rolling it between his palms. After which, he asked, “What about now? Does anyone still want this crumpled thing?” The hands still shot up in the air.
Next, he dropped the twenty-dollar bill, stepped on it and ground it into the floor like he was putting out a match. “Now?” he asked. The hands still went up.
The audience understood that no amount of crumpling or mishandling could lower the value of the twenty-dollar bill. Wadding it up, grinding it on the floor did not reduce its worth. It was still the exact same thing it was before all the trauma began. But we have to wonder how many in that audience still felt their value when their lives got rough?
What about you? Those times when you feel life has dropped you on the ground, or even stepped on you, do you feel worth less than you did before? It’s so easy to believe the hurt we go through in life has the power to diminish our value. Sometimes we lose sight of our worth when facing challenges. And what is more, unlike the twenty-dollar bill in the story, our hard times in life actually have the power to lead us to a better place –a greater hope. Is there any better story to show this than Jesus going through his suffering and death on Good Friday to get to His resurrection on Easter Sunday?
The next time when you feel dropped on the ground and start to allow a feeling of worthlessness to creep into your life, focus on the resurrection, focus on Jesus. He not only understands what you are going through, but He also understands your true value. We are priceless.
Maybe it’s time we started believing that, too.
Watering the Seeds
Has there ever been a time when you felt mistreated? How did you react?
What advice would you give a friend about their worth? Now, give that same advice to yourself.
