There were two evil brothers. They were rich and used their money to hide their despicable deeds. They attended the same church and presented the impression of being faithful Christians.
Their pastor retired and a new one was called. Being either more honest or a better judge of character than his predecessor - or both - he could see right through the brothers' deception. He was also an effective preacher and a diligent pastor. The church grew in numbers.
Suddenly, one of the brothers died. The day before the funeral, the remaining brother sought the new pastor out and handed him a very large check for the church's building campaign.
"I have only one condition," he said. "At his funeral, you must say my brother was a saint."
The pastor gave his word and deposited the check.
The next day at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. "He was an evil man. He cheated on his wife and abused his family. But, compared to his brother, he was a saint."
A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" 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. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind 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.
"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 may 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 DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE.
You are special - Don't EVER forget it."
And to the eyes of God, you are precious, you are special.
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