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Key Bible Verse: I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless (Philippians 3:7). Bonus Reading:Philippians 3:7–9a, 10

Heard about the pranksters who broke into a hardware store? They didn't steal a thing. They simply switched all the price tags. The proprietor was unaware of anything amiss until the first customer stepped to the cash register with a claw hammer. It rang up at $199.95. The customer's jaw dropped. "What's that thing made out of?" he demanded. "Platinum?" The assigned values were hopelessly jumbled. Employees noticed that a big screen TV in the appliance section was selling for $14.95!

We're so prone to do that with our lives, assigning the wrong value to who we are and what we have. [In today's Bonus Reading,] Paul had the price tags right. There's Paul at the cash register, looking at all the price tags attached to his experiences, accomplishments, and treasures. He's got a red pen in his hand, and all those things that used to be so terribly important to him have been slashed to zero. In fact they're headed for the dumpster out back.

And what about knowing Jesus—the name he used to hate and assigned no value to at all? He can't even put a price on the privilege of experiencing Him. He writes "Beyond price" on the tag.

—Joseph Stowell in Simply Jesus

Adapted from Simply Jesus (Multnomah, 2002) by permission.

Copyright © 2002 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, my priorities need aligning with Yours. Show me what needs adjusting. Make me willing to do it.

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