Have you heard of a man name Emmanuel Nenger? I first encountered Mr. Nenger's story through a seminar taught by Zig Ziglar. Story goes that in 1887, Nenger went grocery shopping to buy some greens. At the check out, he gave the cashier a twenty dollar bill, and when she put the money in the cash drawer, she noticed ink from the bill had stained her hands due to the moisture from handling the greens Nenger just purchased.
The cashier had known Mr. Nenger for years. She thought, “This can’t be right. Mr. Nenger is no counterfeiter!” Mr. Nenger was an up right citizen and was known in his town as a person of character. But as required by the store, she decided to report the incident to the police, who confirmed that the twenty dollar bill was indeed a counterfeit.
With a search warrant in hand, the police searched Mr. Nenger’s home. In his attic, they found a room where he counterfeited money. Emmanuel Nenger was a master artist and he was reproducing money with paint and brush, all hand drawn.
The police also found three portraits that Nenger had painted and confiscated them. They were masterfully painted. In fact, those portraits sold for $16,000 at an auction. In 1887, that was a small fortune! The irony is that Nenger spent as much time counterfeiting a twenty dollar bill as it took to paint his portraits that would sell for over $5,000.00.
For sure, Emmanuel Nenger was a thief, but the person he stole the most from was himself!
How about you? Are you stealing from yourself? God has engineered you with success and greatness. You are sons and daughters of God made in the image of God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus! Are you living up to the potential which God has placed in you? If not, why not start today. Believe in what the Bible says about you. And then live! Live with passion!
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