The Junk Drawer

The man had a pair of 4's the other night, and went all-in with them on the flop. We had Ace-King of spades, and had a draw for the "nut flush." We called, and found a spade on the river to hit that flush and win a huge pot.

"You played cr*p," the man said as he examined hands around the table. "You played cr*p.... and you (turning to us) played cr*p."

"Actually, I thought Ace-King was pretty high quality." we answered. But that wasn't the answer he wanted. He was out of the tournament, and needed to vent.

An old phrase is as true with poker hands as it is anywhere else: "One person's trash is another person's treasure." But we'd take this line a bit deeper. How do you look at others - or even yourself? As trash, or treasure?

Believe it or not, God doesn't mind working with junk. In fact, He sometimes seems to delight in it:

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and he things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. - I Corinthians 1:27-29

God does use famous names to be witnesses for Him - but not many (verse 26). The point is that God raises and improves "junk" people, who realize that's exactly what they were - so they give God the credit and praise for the turnaround.

But "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. - II Corinthians 10:17-18

We are thankful to God for whatever success we have at the poker table - whether we win money, or crash early and merely share comments about Jesus Christ. Remember: even the "self-made man" didn't build himself in the womb.