Gems or Dung? How do you see it?
So last night I was with some friends and were laughing hysterically over something I had heard on the radio about how a zoo was going to be selling “Magical Reindeer Gem necklaces” made from reindeer droppings. To think that someone would actually proudly flaunt around another creatures poop- hanging it proudly around their neck for all to see- I thought, “How foolish!” My friend commented, “You know the Lord is up in heaven looking down on people saying, “Their flushing down the toilet all the beautiful jewelry I made for them.” I could not stop laughing.
I got home and thought about it again. Then a thought entered my mind. A tiny little question from out of nowhere. A gentle little voice challenging me from left field. The thought: ”Are people flushing all of God’s jewelery down the toilet?”
Suddenly I realized I was in the place of the fool. I was in the place of the proud. I was laughing and mocking someone who was able to see the value of something I could not. Someone who was able to look at something and call it for its purpose and not for its appearance. Someone who could see a gem where everyone else saw dung.
Two things crossed my mind: God’s word and God’s children. So many people look at the Bible and the Holy scriptures as dung. They study them and consume them only to excrete them and flush them down the toilet. They laugh at the person who proudly quotes the scriptures. They mock the person who sees their worth. They tell everyone around them how foolish the Christian is so that others may laugh along. Yet they are truly blind and the fool.
As for God’s children, who are they? They are every person who has or who is or who will accept(ing) the Lord Jesus Christ. They are the beautiful and they are the those who are wasting away. How many times does the fool criticize his friend who just woke up, “You look like crap.” How many times do people judge the new believer? How many times does a believer judge one who does not believe? Truly we are calling gems dung.
So today I want to apologize to the people I mocked last night. The people who made these magical dung necklaces. To whoever you are: I am sorry that I foolishly called dung what you were able to see as a gem. Truly- the Lord sees you as his gem. His precious child who with his word can do magic!
Lord Jesus,
Forgive me for speaking so foolishly.
Teach me to see the world through your eyes and keep my mouth shut when I cannot.
In Your Precious name Jesus. Amen
Today’s encouraging word: Try to see gems where the world sees dung.
Proverbs 3:3
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
