A high school teacher walked into the school cafeteria and saw some of his students making fun of an elderly woman who had volunteered to work as a cashier in the food line. Sometimes she was a bit slow in making changes, other times she was a bit confused when the students asked her questions.  They began to imitate her in a mocking way and then laugh in such a way that the poor old woman began shaking and her eyes filled with tears. When the teacher saw what was happening, he immediately ordered his class back to their classroom.

Once the students were in their places the teacher entered the classroom and closed the door.  The students expected him to start yelling at them and punishing them. He didn’t do that.  Instead, the teacher just looked around the room and then he began by holding up a 100 dollar bill. He said, “Who would like to have this $100 bill?” Every student raised their hand. Then he announced, “I am going to give this bill to you, but first, let me do this.” Then he proceeded to crumple up 100 dollar bill, he threw it on the floor and stomped on it, and then he tore off one of its corners. “Who still wants this 100 dollar bill?” he asked.  Every hand was up in the air; everyone wanted the $100.  “Well, what if I do this” And he dropped the money in a glass of water he had on his desk.  Holding up the crumpled, torn, soggy $100 bill he said, “Do you still want this old bill?” Every hand still went up. “Why would you want this old soggy $100 dollar bill?” he asked.

One student shouted out, “Because it doesn’t matter what it looks like, how old it is, or how crumpled up it is, it’s still worth one hundred dollars.”  “Exactly!” the teacher replied. He continued, “It doesn’t matter what it looks like, it’s still valuable. That old woman you were all making fun of; you must know that she is more than valuable, she is precious. She, whether you can see it or not, is somebody’s wife, somebody’s daughter, sister or friend; she is somebody’s mama or grandma – she is precious. She does not deserve to be the object of you cruel jokes. She is precious. Never, never forget that!”

That teacher taught his students a valuable lesson. It is a lesson that the prophet Isaiah taught his people thousands of years ago when he told them what God Himself had said about them.  Isaiah wrote this, “Thus says the Lord, ‘You are precious in my eyes.’

We are all precious in God’s eyes. The question we must all ask ourselves is, “Do we treat each other as precious gifts from God?