As we set out on this new venture of church based Blogs, I have been surprised to hear so many people tell me, “I have nothing of any value to say!” For some this may be a convenient excuse but for a great number it is a statement of honest self examination. They truly feel that no one else could ever be blessed by thoughts, stories and encouragements from their life or their experience of the Bible.
This reminded me of an incident in my own life which taught me a lot about how I assign value. Like many at this time of year I have a wardrobe clean out to make room for any new clothes I might receive over Christmas. I must confess as I’m a bit of a hoarder the thought of throwing clothes away doesn't come naturally to me... (you never know when a old pair of socks or pants make come in handy!) So Alison, knowing my reluctance to part with my old clothes suggested we could take them to the recycle shop rather than throwing them in the bin. Realizing this was an opportunity to make some money I agreed and headed off to the “cash for clothes” shop.
I wasn’t exactly sure what the recycling shop did with old clothes or how they made money out of my worn and worthless items. The shop assistant explained that my old clothes would be sent to a third world country and resold in their current condition to some one else. He went on to say that there is a great demand for these second hand items of clothing and they are highly valued... (He then gave me £6:20 for my 3 bin bags of clothes.)
It struck me that something I place such little value on could be highly valued by someone else. Something I view as worthless or useless was precious and in demand by others in different situations or circumstances. This caused me to think of all those who had said, “I have nothing of any value to say!” Maybe, like my old clothes we feel that our thoughts, stories and experiences are worthless to others because they are old and worn in our own lives. The Bible says; The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good;... for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. Luke 6:45 (NASB)
Let us be encourages of others through our words... Get Blogging, what you view as Trash could be someone else's Treasure.