For What It's Worth

Everything has value in some way. It may be next to worthless to one person but be exactly what another was looking for. Items that get thrown in the trash or left in the attic for years are later brought to life and valued in the thousands. I have a friend who visited an auction and spotted a curious looking model. It was a "Moon Bus" they made them back in the later 60's or early 70's. It was thought that in the not so distant future we would all be buying tickets for a vacation to the moon. There were even design flaws to the model, making it impossible to finish completely. Needless to say that model didn't last that long and was quickly discontinued. At the time the models were generally worthless, people threw them away, parts got lost, kids buried them in the backyard with the idea to dig them up later...(where did I bury that thing?). Anyway, my buddy bid on the "Moon Bus" and he got that item with some other items for the grand total of $75. Not extremely cheap for a model from 1969 that he had no idea about. Soon enough he had it up on an online auction. Four days later he sold that model for $750.00 plus shipping. I think if the person who put that model kit in the pile of junk at the local auction would have known it was worth that much, they would have treated it better. I guess sometimes things are worth more than they appear.

Have you ever had that happen? Maybe it was an old lamp, or a dusty painting, or maybe a person... Sometimes we judge a book by the cover and assume because someone doesn't have expensive clothes or drive a nice car that they aren't worth much. That they are trash. We drive by a man standing on the side of the road holding a sign that says "Anything Helps, God Bless" and we think to ourselves. "Lock the doors" or "Get a job bum". Does he really have less value than you or me? If I was born into a family that was very wealthy and from a young age had a massive amount of entitlement, though I didn't have to work for any of it. Am I worth more than you? In some eyes, yes. In my eyes no. Our worth starts within. You need to have self worth, and be willing to stand by it. Character as some would call it, is more important than reputation. To me your reputation is worth a plane ticket, because you can go somewhere different and change it. However, your character is priceless. It's defined by the actions you take when no one is looking.

So help define your character today. Who are you? Are you a person you throws a painting away without regard because it has a little dirt on it? Or will you treat everyone like a priceless work of art? You know what they are worth. Same as you... Everything.

~Caleb