Devotionals

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Unrecognized Value
(A Life Lesson from Fishing)

Read I Corinthians 12 (focal verses 21-26)

I have had the privilege of fishing with a fellow pastor in the North Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina on his boat named Visitation. We normally traveled about 8 to 10 miles out of the Littler River Inlet to bottom fish for black sea bass. On this particular day, another pastor friend was also on the trip. On the way out to the fishing grounds, our host mentioned to us that it was the right time of year to possibly catch an octopus; he went on to tell us that he had been able to sell the last one which he had caught.

When we started fishing, the black sea bass were biting at a pretty good rate. We weren’t setting any records, but there would be plenty of fish for a fish fry. After we had caught several nice black fish, I got another strike. It was not a jolting strike that would jerk the rod out of your hand; it was more of a steady pull away from the boat. I set the hook and felt something heavy on the other end of the line. Whatever it was didn’t fight hard, but it did feel heavy.

After a couple of minutes, I had my line to the top and there was an octopus of about 2 ½ feet in diameter. He was about 20 feet from the boat drifting up and down on top of the small swells. I said to my two companions, “Look I’ve got an octopus!” As I was saying this, I was haphazardly raising and lowering my rod; I wasn’t overly concerned about losing an octopus. About that time, the octopus pulled free and started swimming back to the bottom.

I turned back to our fish guide pastor and asked, “Did you say you could sell those things?”

He looked back at me and said, “I was able to sell the last one I caught.”

“Well what did you get for it?” I asked.

He responded, “I sold the last one for a hundred dollars. I kept it alive in a bucket with an aerator and sold it to one of the local seafood restaurants to display in their aquarium.”

At this point, my other friend spoke up, “A hundred dollars! Next time we hook an octopus, I’ll jump out of the boat and grab it and then you can just gaff me!”

I had no idea about the value of my quarry. I was thinking we might sell the octopus for a couple of bucks per pound. I was thinking fish bait or sushi - not pet!
I failed to see its real value.

Sometimes we fail to see the value in those around us. If we are not careful, we can miss their real worth. There are times when we may even miss our own worth. All human beings are created in the image of God; therefore, we all have value.

When Samuel was sent by God to anoint one of Jesse’s sons the next king of Israel, Samuel looked first at Eliab and thought he must be the one, but he wasn’t. Then the Bible says, “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at, Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” [I Samuel 16:7(NIV)] God had not chosen the big man, Eliab; God had chosen the shepherd boy, David. God was looking at his heart.

It can be easy to judge others, or even ourselves, simply by outward appearances. Our real value is evident when our hearts are examined. Throughout my life, the people who have meant the most to me were those who have hearts full of love for God and others.

Paul also knew the value of people can sometimes be missed. In I Corinthians 12, he talks about the different spiritual gifts which are given by the same Spirit and describes the church as a body with many parts. During his discussion of the different parts of the body, Paul discourages us from thinking that other parts of the body are not important or thinking that our part of the body is not important. In verse 22, he states, “On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable...” We may be tempted to discount the value of ourselves or others, but God’s word reminds us that all believers are indispensable parts of the church.

Isn’t it nice to know when we are unappreciated and misunderstood by those around us that God looks at our hearts and knows where we really stand. If God cared enough to create us in His image, then we must be pretty special to Him! Aren’t you glad He knows our real value?

Copyright 2008 Rev. Jimmy Tarrant

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