Have
you heard the story about the famous art collector? He was strolling
around downtown when he noticed a mangy cat lapping milk from
a saucer in the doorway of a store.
Many
might ignore the scene, but something caused him to look a second
time. Almost instantly he recognized the saucer as an extremely
old and very valuable piece of pottery, and so he decided to
purchase the saucer.
Casually
he walked into the store and up to the storeowner, where he
offered to buy the cat for two dollars.
"I'm
sorry, but the cat isn't for sale," the storeowner replied.
"Please,
I need a cat around the house to catch mice. I'll pay you twenty
dollars for that cat," the collector said.
The
owner looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said "Sold."
After
the famous art collector had received the cat from the owner,
the collector said,
"Hey,
for the twenty bucks I wonder if you could throw in that old
saucer. The cat's used to it and it'll save me from having to
get a dish."
The
storeowner replied, "I'm sorry sir, but that's my lucky
saucer. So far this week I've sold thirty-five cats."
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Do
not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise
by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool"
so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is
foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches
the wise in their craftiness"' and again, "The Lord
knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." -1 Corinthians
3:18