The 50 Dollar Bill

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a 50 dollar bill. In the room of 200 people, he asked, "Who would like this 50 dollar bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this 50 dollar bill to one of you, but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the 50 dollar bill up, then asked, "Does anyone still want it?" Hands still went up. "Well," he continued, "what if I do this?" Then he dropped it on the ground and stomped on it with his shoe. Now crumpled up and dirty, he picked it up and asked, "Now who wants it?" Still the hands kept going up.

"My friends, you 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 50 dollars."

The speaker continued, "Many times in our lives, we are crumpled up, dropped and stepped on, by the circumstances that come our way, and the things that happen in our lives...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, dropped or stepped on — you are still priceless to those who love you. The worth of our lives comes, not in what we do or whom we know, but in WHO WE ARE.”

And what you are is a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God. Never forget that fact. Allow that knowledge to affect the way you see yourself, the way you live your life, and the way you relate to other people.