The story is told of a man who computed his taxes for 1998 and discovered that he owed $3407. He packaged up his payment and included this letter:

Dear IRS:

Enclosed is my 1998 Tax Return & payment. Please take note of the attached article from the USA Today newspaper. In the article, you will see that the Pentagon is paying $171.50 for hammers and NASA has paid $600.00 for a toilet seat.

Please find enclosed four toilet seats (value $2400) and six hammers (value $1029). This brings my total payment to $3429.00. Please note the overpayment of $22.00 and apply it to the “Presidential Election Fund,” as noted on my return. Might I suggest you send the above mentioned fund a “1.5 inch screw.” (See attached article…HUD paid $22.00 for a 1.5 inch Phillips Head Screw.)

It has been a pleasure to pay my tax bill this year, and I look forward to paying it again next year.

Sincerely,
A satisfied taxpayer

I don’t recommend trying this at home without adult supervision! 🙂 Is a toilet seat worth $600? Not to me! (and I suspect not to the IRS either). Ultimately, though, what determines the “worth” of a toilet seat, or anything else, is how much someone is willing to pay for it.

How much is a Beanie Baby worth? In terms of the material involved, only a few cents. But, if someone is willing to pay several hundred dollars for it, that’s what it’s worth!

Several years ago, someone calculated the “worth” of a human being by figuring out how much it would cost to buy the elements that compose our body and came up with an amount of several dollars. But our true worth is determined by how much someone was willing to pay for us.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

If you’re questioning your “worth,” consider that Jesus Christ regarded you as valuable enough to die on the cross for you. You’re priceless!

Have a great day!

Alan Smith