Never Underestimate

One of our greatest weaknesses is the temptation to underestimate people. Just recently while watching the TV program “America’s Got Talent” I watched as a young man stepped to the microphone to perform. By his looks he seemed to be a misfit, but when he began to sing it was amazing. The judges were greatly surprised and admitted they had totally underestimated him. When we fall prey to this kind of behavior we often lose in the process. It reminds me of a story I read recently. A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, 'This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.' The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks , 'Which do you want, son?' The boy takes the quarters and leaves the dollar. 'What did I tell you?' said the barber. 'That kid never learns!' Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store & says; 'Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?' The boy licked his cone and replied 'Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!' The barber had completely misread the young lad’s ability. Wasn’t that also the case when Samuel turned up at Jesse’s house to anoint a king to rule over Israel? He could not believe his eyes nor his ears when God said, “this is the one anoint him immediately.” In respect to looks David was young and ruddy, but God saw a man with an incredible heart. While we may not see giftedness initially, we can never underestimate the worth and ability of those who come before us. They just might be the answer to our prayers and the fulfillment of our dreams.