There once was a boy about 15 or 16 years old who had everything. He was athletic, got straight A’s in school, had the perfect girlfriend and the perfect home life, and was well-liked by all. Within one year, that same boy was looking suicide in the face. He hated himself and wished to disappear. Out of nowhere, he had developed a case of strong acne. He would have pimples so big and puss so strong that you could start to smell them. He lost his girlfriend and all of his friends. He lost his position on the team because he was deemed not medically fit to play. His parents fought all the time once they realized the acne was not going away and blamed each other for their son’s problems. The boy was so desperate for friends and to escape from home that he joined a group of outcasts. They were the school rebels that constantly got into trouble. Soon the boy had straight F’s and was constantly in detention.
One day a new teacher arrived at the school. He was assigned to be the new detention teacher. After two weeks of putting up with the incredibly disrespectful attitude of the boy who was now the ugly outcast rebel, he decided to take action. He asked the boy to stay after the rest of the others had left after normal detention time. When all were gone, he pulled out a crisp new $100 bill and offered it to the boy. He asked, “Are you interested?” The boy was wary, but couldn’t resist the thought of a crisp new $100. “Of course I’m interested,” he said and reached out to grab the $100 bill out of the teacher’s hand. But the teacher pulled back and said, “Hold on just a sec.” He then crumpled the bill up in his hand before throwing it on the floor and stomping on it. He picked it up off the floor and asked, “Are you still interested?” The boy blurted back, “Of course I am. A 100 bucks are 100 bucks.”
“Hold on then,” said the teacher, “You wouldn’t mind if I did this then…” and proceeded to put the bill in his mouth, with extra slobber. Then he went to a plant in the room and took the soil from the plant and dipped the slobbery $100 bill in the soil. You could barely recognize the $100 bill when he walked back over to the boy and asked, “You still want this?” The boy was a little more hesitant now, but said, “Well yeah…it just needs to be cleaned. It’s still 100 bucks.”
Then the teacher made his point, “So you’re saying this dirty, gross, slobbery $100 bill, that you can’t even tell is $100 bill because it’s so dirty, is still worth $100?”
“Yes,” responded the boy.
The teacher then said, “If this $100 is still $100, then what makes you think your worth as a human being is any less than it was at this same time last year? In the eyes of God, you always have been and always will carry the same amount of worth, no matter how many times you get crumpled up, stomped on, spit on, or dirtied. Your worth NEVER goes down in his eyes. You will always and forever be of worth in this world.” Then the teacher took the $100, washed it off, patted it dry, then handed it to the boy. “I want you to keep this in your wallet forever, and anytime you start to doubt your self-worth, you look at this bill and remember that no matter what happens, you are of infinite worth and your value will never change.”
So the next you begin to doubt yourself or your self-worth, remember the story of the boy and the $100 bill and know that you are of INFINITE worth and your value as a human being will NEVER change. The worth of each soul is GREAT in the eyes of God.
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