What Is It Worth?

…[love] does not boast, it is not proud.  1 Corinthians 13:4

 Props: 4 identical toys, wrapped in different packages (some fancy, some plain)

             Today I have with me four very different packages.  I wonder what’s inside.  Before we look inside, I want you to help me guess how much the contents of each are worth.  (Hold up each package and allow the children to guess the worth of each.  Help them by giving them some figures to choose from, such as $1, $5, or $10).  Okay, now that we have guessed, let’s open them up.  (Proceed to open each package, revealing that all are the same inside).  So how much was each worth?  (Allow for response, giving the kids the real value).  They’re all worth the same.  Is any one of these toys any better than the others?  (Allow for response).  But some were in nice packages, and others weren’t.  It doesn’t really seem to matter, though.  And it probably doesn’t matter where they came from either.  Even if they came from different stores, they’re still the same toy.

            Each of us looks a little different than everyone else.  Some have dark hair, some have light hair.  Some have freckles, some don’t.  There are people with very many different colors of skin and eyes.  But what’s on the outside is kind-of like these packages.  It’s just the wrapping.  The inside of a person is what gives him or her value.  And just like the toys, it doesn’t matter where a person comes from.  That person is still a human being.  Even as each toy had the same price, God paid the same price for each one of us.  He gave His son Jesus for each person on Earth.  And that makes everyone equally valuable in His sight.  If God says we’re all worth the same, then shouldn’t we treat others the same?  No one is any better than anyone else.  So you shouldn’t be proud and think that you’re better than others.  God loves us all.