(Show a crisp, clean $100 bill.)
Ask, "How much is this worth?" (Listen for answers)
$100 is a lot of money, no matter how rich or poor you are in this world.
Ask, "Who would want the $100?" (Everyone will want it!)
Please listen now how this $100 bill can relate to our lives.
This perfect $100 bill is like all of us when we're born. Our spirit and potential had
no flaws, no imperfections, and when we were born, no negative thoughts were thrown at us by others.
(Pass the $100 bill around to anyone who is willing to share negative things that
have been said or done to them and how it made them feel. If it was something minor, fold it once.
If it was something more hurtful fold it a couple of times. When the bill is returned,
and as you share personal things from your own life that have been hurtful, step on it, rub dirt on it,
crush it, etc. When you are finished sharing your story, the $100 bill
should be a crumpled mess.)
Show the bill again and ask, "How much is it worth
now?" (They will reply, "$100.")
Ask, "Who wants this dirty, wadded up, crumpled $100 now?" (Everyone
will still want it.)
Ask, "Why? It is filthy, all crumpled, and it barely looks like a $100 bill
anymore!"
(Allow a few seconds to look at the $100. Then, restate some of the hurtful things that were shared by the group, and about your own life.)
The point of this lesson is for each of us to realize that no matter what anyone has
said to us, has done to us, or what has happened in the past, we still have great worth,
we never lost our value, because we are made in God's image! We all began life with great worth
and that NEVER changes in God's eyes!
SPEND your life wisely. INVEST the rest of your life to get the BEST RETURN.
Invest it with The LORD JESUS Christ and ALL HE has for you. There is a 2nd truth to this demonstration that I
don't want you to miss. What you say and do to people matters. After reflecting on the pain you have
experienced at the words and hands of others doesn't this also prove that our interaction with
others truly matters?
No matter how many times this $100 bill was folded or crumpled up, how hard it was stomped on, or how much dirt was dumped on it
-- it is still worth $100.
We can still spend it the exact same way as when it was brand new. It can be
used to bring us JOY or to help someone else. It can help us reach an important goal or
take us down a dark path. It comes down to OUR CHOICE and what we do to exchange the WORTH
of it.
The lesson is here for us to see is that WE are still very valuable no matter what
has been said about us, done to us, or what we have been through. I hope you can remember this simple object lesson and will use time and words as
an investment to encourage others and the way they feel about themselves. My hope is that YOU never forget that your worth is the same to GOD as it was in the
beginning--no matter what life has dealt you, thus far. This is the same for everyone you know, will meet, and have interaction with.
Let us think prayerfully now about these Bible verses:
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD,
plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
~ Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
~ Ephesians 4:32 (KJV)
Copyright 2019 Emmalea Butler
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