The billionaire drives a garbage truck. At least he did! Fresh out of the army Wayne needed work and a friend had it—driving a garbage truck. Wayne was not too proud to tote trash. In fact, he eventually went into the business for himself with one truck and $500 in accounts. He worked hard and business boomed. First, it was hauling garbage, then it was peddling videos, and then it was sports franchises. Wayne Huizenga, the garbage man, became Wayne Huizenga, the billion-dollar man.
Mr. Huizenga is not the first person to specialize in scrap. That has always been Jesus’ expertise. The pages of the gospels are a highway littered with people that many saw as "garbage." Look, there’s Levi! His countrymen wrote him off as filthy and worthless. And there’s the Samaritan woman, practically a prostitute—one of the outcasts of society. Over there is that demon-possessed guy—a real Looney Tune!
All of them were discarded, forgotten, and avoided. They were put out on the street like household trash, but Jesus took time for them! He reclaimed them for God. No wonder the dregs of society wanted to be near him:
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me."And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:9-13 ESV
The Bible tells us "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" in God's sight (Isaiah 64:6 NIV). Our best efforts fall far short of winning his favor. That makes all of us trash -- spiritually speaking. The good news: that's why Jesus came. Follow him. Trust him. Thank him!