‘TEN DOLLARS IS TEN DOLLARS!’

An old farmer and his wife always went to the county fair. And, every year they saw the same pilot offering to take people up for a spin in his airplane for $10 a ride. 

Every year, the old farmer asked his wife to give him $10 so he could go up. Every year, the wife responded by getting very mad at him and saying that ten dollars was ten dollars and they couldn’t afford to be so frivolous with what little money they had. 

He told her that he was now 80 years old and if he didn’t go up this year, he never would. In a very angry voice, she repeated that ten dollars was ten dollars. At this point they got into an argument about it. 

The pilot overheard them and offered to make them a deal. He would take them both up for free providing he didn’t hear one word from either one of them during the entire trip. If either of them said anything at all, they would have to pay him the $10. They agreed. 

The pilot put them in, took off and during the course of the next 15 minutes put that plane through every maneuver known to man, including flips, rolls, and nosedives. And he didn’t so much as hear a sound from them. 

When they landed, he congratulated the farmer on not making any noise, and asked him how come they never said anything during all the maneuvers. The farmer said, “Well, I was going to say something when my wife fell out, but like she always told me, ‘Ten dollars is ten dollars!" 

Well, at least they both knew the value of ten dollars, didn’t they?

What are our priorities in life? Jesus tells his disciples, “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?”  (Mtt. 16:26)