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Worthless

   
The Los Angeles Dodgers spent some money in the last off-season. The team committed to more than $1 billion in future salaries, signing superstar Shohei Ohtani to a ten-year contract that will ultimately pay him $700 million. They also came to terms with pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million pact. And they signed outfield Andrew Toles to a deal worth, almost certainly, $0.
  You might think that means that don’t value Toles but you would be wrong.
  Toles started playing for the Dodgers in 2016 and was pretty good for them. But in the next several years his play dropped off till by 2019 he was playing for the team at all.  It wasn’t injury or decline but a disease that ended his playing days. Toles was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The disorder left him unable to play and even care for himself. This burden of his care was left to his father and it was clear that Toles was going to have a hard time paying for the treatment he desperately needed. That’s where the Dodgers stepped in.  
  In 2020 and every year since, the Dodgers signed Toles to a $0 contract, and by doing so made him eligible for the league-covered health insurance that all ballplayers enjoy.  Andrew Toles may never set foot on a baseball field again, but the Dodgers are helping him by keeping him on the team*. 

For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:7-8  

  Many people define a person's worth by what they can do, the talent they have, or what they bring to the table. God does not see our worth that way. He sees us as worthwhile because we are his. No matter how damaged or broken we may be, He still loves us and cares for us. He wants us to be a part of his team and will pay whatever to make it happen. 
 I am glad that even in the jaded world of sports, people still see the inherent value of others.  I hope we in the church will do the same.


*“The $0 Baseball Player With the Priceless Contract” by Dan Lewis NOW I Know Newsletter March 26,2024


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