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. Most of all, YOU are special to the God who gave you the life you are living.”
If YOU do not pass this on, YOU may never know the lives it touches, the hurting hearts it speaks to, or the hope that it may bring. Count YOUR blessings, not YOUR problems.
My Commentary:
The power of this story lies in how obvious the answer feels — and how easily we forget it when it comes to ourselves. Everyone in the room knows the crumpled bill is still worth twenty dollars. No one hesitates. No one argues. Its value is unquestioned.
Yet when life does something similar to us, we draw a very different conclusion.
We let failure, regret, rejection, or hardship convince us that we are diminished. We believe that the dirt defines us. We assume the creases are permanent. We confuse what has happened to us with who we are.
But the truth revealed in that simple bill is this: value is intrinsic. It cannot be earned, increased, or erased by circumstances. A person’s worth is not determined by performance, reputation, or the opinions of others. It is bestowed — given at the moment of creation — and never revoked.
God does not see us the way we often see ourselves. God sees past the crumples, past the dirt, past the damage, straight to the image He placed within us. What feels ruined to us is still precious to Him.
This is not an excuse to deny our wounds or mistakes. It is a reminder that they do not have the final word. Redemption always begins with remembering worth.
And perhaps that is why this message is meant to be shared. Because somewhere, someone believes they are no longer wanted, no longer valuable, no longer worthy of love. This story quietly insists otherwise.
Count your blessings, yes — but remember this one above all: your value has never been up for debate.
Who might YOU reach out to right now who is feeling worthless and depressed?
WHEN GOD SELECTED YOU, IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO ELSE REJECTED OR NEGLECTED YOU. GOD’S FAVOR OUTWEIGHS ALL ELSE. YOU’RE A WINNER!
This Message will get people’s attention. Do share it with the young. And please listen to my podcast.
