Week 8 - Tim White - Where is Your Value From?

Tim, the fire chaplain for Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus, uses a $20 bill as an analogy to discuss a person's value.

The $20 bill is worth $20 because it has the Treasury seal and a unique serial number.

If the $20 bill is wadded up, thrown on the ground, and made muddy and dirty, it is still worth $20 because it still has the Treasury seal and the unique serial number.

Tim compares the crumpled $20 bill to people who feel they are "messed up," "dirty," "nasty," "ashamed," or "broken" due to life's struggles, mistakes, or addictions, leading them to believe they are not worth anything. However, their worth remains, and they are not too messed up to go to God.

Tim quotes John 3:16–17: "'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.'" God came for everyone, even when they are "all messed up, all broken, all dirty".

You can put your own name into the verse "For God so loved [your name]". A person does not have to clean up to go to God, but only needs to "take the first step".Just as the crumpled $20 bill retains its value because it has the seal and unique number, people have the "seal of your creator" and are unique.

God made each person specifically for a purpose, has a plan for their life, and "doesn't make junk". Every person is a masterpiece, not born by accident, and God breathed life into you for a reason. God wants you "just as you are," and if you bring your brokenness to Him, He will turn it into something beautiful.