Beautiful People
In an episode of the old television series “All in the Family,” Edith and Archie are attending Edith’s High School class reunion. Edith encounters an old classmate named Buck who has allowed himself to become extremely obese. Edith has a delightful conversation with him about old times and the things they did together, but remarkably, Edith doesn’t seem to even notice how extremely heavy her friend has become.
Later, Edith and Archie are talking. She says, “Archie, ain’t Buck a beautiful person?” Archie replies: “Edith, I’ll never figure you out. You and I can look at the same guy and you see a beautiful person and I see a blimp!” And Edith replies, simply, “Yeah, Arch, ain’t that too bad!”
Jesus tells us that when we look at other people, we should see something special in them; we should see them not just as beautiful people but as people for whom He gave His life; we should see them not just as fellow believers but as people in whom He lives.
What do you see when you look at the broken person, the dysfunctional person, the needy person, the sinner? If you see anything less than one for whom Christ died, "ain't that too bad!"
Jesus said: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
The World's Most Expensive Dirt
Steiner Sports is a premier provider of sports memorabilia of all kinds. In particular, it has held the "exclusive rights" to Yankee Stadium memorabilia since 2004. It's always been a lucrative business, but with the closing of the old Yankee Stadium following the last game in September 2008, Steiner Sports hit paydirt--literally.
They devised a marketing plan to sell everything--even the old seats and the restroom urinals--as a growing number of sports fans worldwide clamored for a literal "piece" of history. But the dirt and sod that clung to the cleats and stained the pants of baseball's giants--that's where the real money was to be found.
“Dirt really is a piece of history, and it is something other fans generally can’t get,” said a Steiner spokesman, who has been selling dirt from Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium and other MLB diamonds for several years. “In some way, Yankee Stadium dirt connects you to Babe Ruth.”
As for the harvesting of the paydirt, the New York Post reports:
The dirt, collected before the old ballpark was demolished, has been used in some 360,000 and counting! collectibles that were sold to Yankee fans willing to dig deep into their pockets for a smidgen of the old Stadium’s sacred soil. …
Less than half an ounce was sealed in each of thousands of transparent plastic disks that were artfully inserted into souvenirs such as posters, plaques and paperweights.
More than three tons of the stuff has been dug out so far — and half of it was used in $10 million worth of products.
And the Yanks and their agent, Steiner Sports Collectibles, will probably score a double play.
The other half of the world’s most expensive dirt is being stored in barrels in New Rochelle, awaiting its transformation into additional keepsakes.
The products sell from as little as $20 for a small keychain with a few grains of dirt, to tens of thousands of dollars for a "star" signed plaque encasing dirt from the area surrounding home plate or sod from the infield.
But don't be fooled by imitation dirt or sod. Genuine Yankee sod comes with the following Steiner Sports Product Description:
Many considered the field at the original Yankee Stadium to be the most sacred turf in all of sports. The games' greatest and brightest stars have shined while playing on this beloved sod. Now you can own an actual piece of this legendary sod. Removed from the Stadium, your personal piece of pinstriped real estate will be freeze-dried. No care and maintenance is needed, your freeze-dried grass will stay like that forever. Each piece of ... freeze-dried sod comes in a glass display case with an engraved nameplate. A Yankees-Steiner Letter of Authenticity is included.
What was merely dirt to those who played the game has become something sacred in the minds and hearts of the throngs of adoring fans who are willing to lay down big bucks for it.
Indeed, God has given us the freedom to decide what we will choose to hail as truly significant, as sacred. But even though we've been given the freedom to venerate "this" or "that," God alone determines what is genuinely worthy of veneration. In fact, He has always held the "exclusive rights" to our adoration and worship, and He's not sharing them with anyone or anything--not even the New York Yankees!
That means the only sacred turf you'll ever really find is that on which you stand or bow in His presence. And we can choose to do that every moment of every day as we engage in all the details of our lives, from the mundane to the momentous, with an attitude of reverential awe for Who God is and all that He's done for us. In this way we make all ground "holy."
As God said to an awe-struck Moses, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5).
Do You Feel Plutoed?
Poor Pluto. First, it’s a planet and then it’s not anymore. It has become the Rodney Dangerfield of our solar system. In an award-winning move that probably did not make the “sub planet” feel better, the term “plutoed” was declared the Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society in Anaheim, California, a little over a decade ago. The word means “to demote or devalue someone or something.”
Do you ever feel “plutoed”? Do you feel like people don’t appreciate you like they should? You may get that feeling on the job, when you’re working harder than anyone else and somebody else gets the credit, the promotion, and the attention. You may get that feeling in your marriage or in the home, whether you’re the husband, wife, parents, or children. You may even sometimes feel “plutoed” by the church. Maybe you feel that your difficulties or problems are being ignored. You might think your contributions or ideas are not taken seriously enough. I’m sure elders, deacons, preachers, Bible class teachers, their spouses, along with everyone else, has to deal with that “plutoed” feeling periodically.
Will you remember a few things? First, remember the value God placed on your soul by sending Jesus to die to save it (Galatians 2:20). Second, remember that God’s system of rewarding is on His time and His terms, but He will not let faithful service go unnoticed or unblessed (Matthew 6:4, 6, 16). Third, remember that you are valuable because of who you are, a child of God (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:5-6). Finally, remember your obligation to help everyone around you feel valued. Afterall, isn't that the way you prefer to be treated? (Luke 6:31). It’s the Christ-like way (Acts 10:38). There are plenty of people around you who are sorely in need of being “de-plutoed," even as God has uniquely equipped you for the task (1 Corinthians 12:8-12).
Experience the value that God has attributed to you by showing it to all those for whom Christ died.
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:18-19).