Dirty Money

The following article appeared in the Feb. 13 bulletin of the Huntingdon church of Christ where Dan Winkler preaches.  The author is unknown, but I thought it would be of interest to others.  The title is one that I gave it.

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill.  In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?”  When hands started going up, he said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.”  He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. 

He then asked, “Who still wants it?”  Still the hands were up in the air.  He replied, “What if I do this?”  He dropped it on the ground and ground it into the floor with his shoe.  He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.  “Now, who still wants it?”  Still the hands went into the air.

He concluded, “My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson.  No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value.  It was still worth $20.  Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.  We feel as though we are worthless.  But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.  Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you.  The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by who we are and whose we are.”

“Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).