The following is a confidential report on several candidates being considered for a ministry position....

ADAM:

Good man but problems with his wife. Also one reference told of how his wife and he enjoy walking nude in the woods.

NOAH:

Former pastorate of 120 years with not even one convert. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

ABRAHAM:

Though the references reported wife-swapping, the facts seem to show he never slept with another man's wife, but did offer to share his own wife with another man.

JOSEPH:

A big thinker, but a braggart, believes in dream-interpreting, and has a prison record.

MOSES:

A modest and meek man, but poor communicator, even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

DAVID:

The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor's wife.

SOLOMON:

Great preacher but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.

ELIJAH:

Prone to depression. Collapses under pressure.

ELISHA:

Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.

HOSEA:

A tender and loving pastor but our people could never handle his wife's occupation.

JEREMIAH:

Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things, reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of a foreign river.

ISAIAH:

On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.

JONAH:

Refused God's call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.

AMOS:

Too backward and unpolished. With some seminary training he might have promise, but has a hang-up against wealthy people--might fit in better in a poor congregation.

MELCHIZEDEK:

Great credentials at current work place, but where does this guy come from? No information on his resume about former work records. Every line about parents was left blank and he refused to supply a birth date.

JOHN:

Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn't dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.

PETER:

Too blue collar. Has a bad temper-even has been known to curse. Had a big run-in with Paul in Antioch. Aggressive, but a loose cannon.

PAUL:

Powerful CEO type leader and fascinating preacher. However, short on tact, unforgiving with younger ministers, harsh and has been known to preach all night.

JAMES & JOHN:

Package deal preacher & associate seemed good at first, but found out they have an ego problem regarding other fellow workers and seating positions. Threatened an entire town after an insult. Also known to try to discourage workers who didn't follow along with them.

TIMOTHY:

Too young!

METHUSELAH:

Too old . . . WAY too old!

JESUS:

Has had popular times, but once his church grew he managed to offend them all, and then this church dwindled a far bit. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he's single.

JUDAS:

His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money. We're inviting him to preach this Sunday. Possibilities here.

What do you think? Should we hire this guy? Sounds qualified! The above listing should remind us that you can't always trust human sight, reason, or rumor when evaluating someone's potential. Too often judge someone's supposed fitness or unfitness for a position solely on what we see on the outside. I am really glad that God doesn't do that with me!!! If He did, I'd be toast! We need to look at the heart of a person. We need to see the value that lies within each person simply because they are a child of God, just as we are. They may not look the same as we do. They may not smell the same, sound the same, or think the same. They may even sin sometimes! (I'm sure NONE of you do that, right?!?) But their value isn't in any of these things, but they are valuable because God says they are. And who are we to disagree with God, on this or any other point?

Take a closer look at those around you. The very person that God may have for a particular job may be the very last one you would think of to do it. It may even be

YOU!