Years ago, when I was a much younger man, I had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong while I was serving in the US Navy. It was just an amazing experience, and very educational on a number of levels.
And as I walked the streets farther and farther from the cities center, I saw a tattoo parlor in a seedy little building off the beaten path. In the window of this very tiny shop were displayed samples of many of the tattoos that were available. On your chest or arms you could have tattooed an anchor or flag or mermaid or… whatever.
However, what struck me with surprise were three words that could be tattooed on one’s flesh if one were so inclined… it was the words: ‘Born to lose.’
I entered the shop in astonishment and pointing to those words, I asked the little Chinese tattoo artist, ‘Does anyone really have that terrible phrase, ‘Born to lose’, tattooed on their body?’ He replied, ‘Yes, sometimes.’
‘But,’ I said, ‘I just can’t believe — that anyone in his right mind would do that. I can’t believe they would just permanently label themselves a ‘looser’.
“The Chinese man simply tapped his forehead and in broken English said, “Before tattoo on body… tattoo on mind.’”
In other words: What you THINK you are shapes WHO you are. If you THINK you were born to lose, that you have no purpose or value… well… that’s how you’ll live your life. But if you realize you have intrinsic value… I believe you will tend to live up to that image. For example… let’s say I have a $100 dollar bill. (I don’t… I’m really looking at a $5 but just work with me ok?) How do we decide how much this $100 is worth?
What if I tear it? What if I crumple it up? What if I throw it on the floor and just stomp on it? Now what is it worth? Still about $100 dollars right? Why? Because it’s still a $100 bill. And it has intrinsic value that makes it worth $100.
But WHY is it worth $100? Is it the paper? Is it the ink? Are the pictures on it worth $100? Nope. It’s worth $100... because it was created by someone who had the authority to say it had that value.
You, as a human being, have been made in the image of God. He has the authority to say you have value and worth. No matter what has happened to you. No matter what you’ve done with your life up to this point. No matter how many bad decisions you’ve made. No matter what others have said about you… not even if you got a tattoo that says you were ‘Born to Lose’!
You are STILL created in the image of God. And nothing you do can change that.
And as I walked the streets farther and farther from the cities center, I saw a tattoo parlor in a seedy little building off the beaten path. In the window of this very tiny shop were displayed samples of many of the tattoos that were available. On your chest or arms you could have tattooed an anchor or flag or mermaid or… whatever.
However, what struck me with surprise were three words that could be tattooed on one’s flesh if one were so inclined… it was the words: ‘Born to lose.’
I entered the shop in astonishment and pointing to those words, I asked the little Chinese tattoo artist, ‘Does anyone really have that terrible phrase, ‘Born to lose’, tattooed on their body?’ He replied, ‘Yes, sometimes.’
‘But,’ I said, ‘I just can’t believe — that anyone in his right mind would do that. I can’t believe they would just permanently label themselves a ‘looser’.
“The Chinese man simply tapped his forehead and in broken English said, “Before tattoo on body… tattoo on mind.’”
In other words: What you THINK you are shapes WHO you are. If you THINK you were born to lose, that you have no purpose or value… well… that’s how you’ll live your life. But if you realize you have intrinsic value… I believe you will tend to live up to that image. For example… let’s say I have a $100 dollar bill. (I don’t… I’m really looking at a $5 but just work with me ok?) How do we decide how much this $100 is worth?
What if I tear it? What if I crumple it up? What if I throw it on the floor and just stomp on it? Now what is it worth? Still about $100 dollars right? Why? Because it’s still a $100 bill. And it has intrinsic value that makes it worth $100.
But WHY is it worth $100? Is it the paper? Is it the ink? Are the pictures on it worth $100? Nope. It’s worth $100... because it was created by someone who had the authority to say it had that value.
You, as a human being, have been made in the image of God. He has the authority to say you have value and worth. No matter what has happened to you. No matter what you’ve done with your life up to this point. No matter how many bad decisions you’ve made. No matter what others have said about you… not even if you got a tattoo that says you were ‘Born to Lose’!
You are STILL created in the image of God. And nothing you do can change that.
RSS Feed