Summary: You may be disappointed, discouraged, emotionally emasculated, and spiritually messed-up.

You may
get talked about, and criticized. You may even be socially unaccepted, rejected by family, friends, and society has a
whole, but thats what God can use. Dam
Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:1-1:19 (add scripture)
Tags: Apologetics The Bible (add tag)
Denomination: Apostolic
Audience: General adults

Sermon:

Damaged Goods

1st Samuel 1:1-5, 10-11, & 19

Often times in the certain stores they will have a special section of items that are considered to be

damaged goods. These items have either been dented, scratched, or something is wrong with them and

they are said not to have the value they are suppose to have. Because these items are considered

damaged they are either marked down to a very reasonable price or some stores will just throw them

away and consider them as trash. To the store they hold no profitable ability to them, they are damaged

goods.

We find in our text the history of a woman called Hannah. Hannah had a condition that is called barred,

which simply means that she was unable to have children. Unlike many in todays society, women that

have children and do not want them, but women in the Old Testament days desired to have children.

They looked upon the ability to have children as approval from God that they were without sin. However

when a woman was not able to have children she was not socially accepted by those that could. She was

publicly criticized, talked about, harassed, teased, provoked, made to feel less than a woman was, and

was considered to be worthless and useless.

It was believed by society that she had committed a sin against God and this was His punishment for her

sin, by not allowing her to have children. Often times when a woman was not able to have children, her
husband would kill her, because her barrenness brought reproach upon him. This is one of the reasons

Moses instituted divorce. Instead of killing her, he would send her back to her father and she would live

the rest of her life has a widowed woman, because she was now considered damaged goods. She was

worthless and useless to any man.

Hannah suffered from this barrenness, she was socially unaccepted, criticized, not only from those that

knew her, but those in her family unit, for her husband had two wives. She was harassed, teased,

disappointed, discouraged, had low self-esteem. She felt useless, worthless, incomplete, forsaken, she

considered herself as damaged goods in the eyes of others and in her own mind.

Eventhough her husband loved her and tried to fill the cracks of her broke spirit with a worthy portion.

Eventhough he treated her with respect it was only a temporary fix. She was still considered in her mind

and by others as being damaged goods.

Often times we become disappointed, discouraged, emotionally emasculated, and spiritually messed-up,

we get talked about, and criticized. We may even not be socially accepted, rejected by family, friends,

and society has a whole. Some may be locked in a mental prison of low self esteem looking for a way out,

only to find a temporary fix. We get caught up in drugs, alcohol, and elicit sexual activity only to find that

the problem is still there. We are considered damaged goods. Society has cast you off as being some

kind of social disaster, they may have even it actually comes time to offer up that sacrifice, it will cost.

When we bring our praise with no ulterior motives, no attempts to twist God arm to come to us. Our

praises will become a powerful weapon against the enemy.

you just hold on to Gods unchanging hands you will be priceless.

God said a broken heart and a contrite spirit, these are considered to humanity to be damaged goods, but

to God it is just what he can use.

Elder Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.