To have extra cash we will have a yard sale where we sell off things that are “cluttering” the garage, attic or basement. In hard times we will have another yard sale and sell more precious things that, in the future, we maybe able to replace. Ever been there?How many of you have heard of “Cash4Gold.”
It is a true place that will take your precious jewelry (gold, silver, platinum), melt it down and give you cash for it. Those pieces that you paid either double or triple digits for. Maybe an heirloom given to you…a wedding band, class ring from generations, anything broken and not used.
Matt and I have had garage sales for extra cash, we have had garage sales in hard times and yes, we have…just recently sent in some old jewelry (gold) to help during uncertain times. As I packed the insured bag that came with the kit I reminisced over
how much I paid for the chain that now lay with in the contents of cuff links, and gold earrings. I remember the cost of the earrings when my grandmother bought them.With that knowledge of “paid price”, we were anticipating what would come back in the mail. I remember when the check arrived and opening the edges to find the official check amount accompanied by a letter that stated what was “deemed” as precious and what was not. What was seen as not precious did not arrive back to our house and more than likely has been tossed aside. The check read, “$3.13"
Matt and I have decided not to cash it because it speaks a parallel truth to our society and how we measure what is or is not of value.
To me, the items I mailed in that tiny insured envelope were precious and had heavy value. Just as my precious metal items were tossed away, we as a people so quickly toss things aside in our world as having no value. An unborn child, the child or adult with a disability. The homeless person on the corner. The drug addict who has come in for treatment for the 8th time. The alcoholic who has lost everything and is grasping on each minute for hope and freedom. To the divorced parent who is struggling to find either forgiveness or to forgive. The teenager seeking purpose and has been rebelling. The pregnant daughter who is unwed. A follower of Christ who is struggling with depression. The person who isn’t a follower of Christ and we have “no time” to truly sit and chat with them, befriend them…we just want to tell them what we think they are "doing wrong" as we glare and huff with self righteousness….anything that does not fit “my box”. These people and more are what are placed daily into the “cash4gold” baggy and labeled, “not precious”.
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice. 'For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:11-13
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17
"...He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior..." Titus 3:15, 16
My Question: What do you hold, view, label as precious?The Challenge: Now, step back and ask yourself, “What does God hold, view, as precious….and may we begin to do likewise.
Disclosure: As a small child I was treated and viewed as not precious and that I had no value. In my Junior year of college my counselor gave me this verse and I carry it in my heart daily...the words of Christ to me...I give them now to you:
“You are all beautiful to me, I see no flaw in you.” Song of Songs 4:7
Much love,
Angel
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