I recently came across a Taoist story the other day that I think can serve as a reminder to us. According to the story, a carpenter and his apprentice are walking through a forest looking for some wood for one of their projects. After a short walk, they come upon a very tall, huge and gnarled old oak tree. As they pause to look at it, the apprentice remarks that the tree is the most beautiful tree he has seen in years. The carpenter agrees. Then the carpenter asks his apprentice, “Do you know why this tree is so tall, so huge, so gnarled, old and beautiful?”

  The apprentice looked at the carpenter and said, “No. . .why?”

  “Well,” the carpenter replied, “because it is useless. If it had been useful, it would have been cut down years ago to make tables and chairs and benches and other useful things. But now, because it has been useless, it could grow to be so tall, gnarled, old, and yes quite beautiful. Now many people can come and sit in its shade and relax. Birds can make nests in its branches.”

  The Taoist masters use this story to remind their students that our worth does not come from how “useful” we are, or how much talent we have, or how much money or property we own. Our worth does not come from what we produce, but from who we are.

  Jesus asked his disciples to “look at the birds of the sky” and know that you are worth more than a whole flock of birds to Our Heavenly Father. Or again he says “consider the lilies of the field” and “seek first the Kingdom of God, for it has pleased the Father to give you the kingdom.”

   We are all God’s children, we belong to Him, and our worth does not come from what we produce, what we own, or what we can or cannot do. Our worth comes from the fact that we are God’s own children and brothers and sisters to one another. This is a good starting point in the first few days of a new year.