I do not throw away my valuables, assuming that I know what has value. It is easy to take steps to protect your wallet when you are in a crowded city center market. In situations like this, only the arrogant and innocent fail to realize the risk. The gray area comes when you are carry something of value that you are unaware of or you are blind to the risks inherent in a given situation. I often find myself behaving like my valuables are worthless pieces of glass; careless and casual to the extent that I might as well be offering them to anyone who would take my handout.
I wonder if I really know what has value. Is the money I carry along with the credit cards and phone numbers in my wallet the only things of value? What is my life worth? Is there any value to items like dignity, honesty, ethics, standards, and loyalty? Do I take any steps to protect them? Do my actions suggest that I consider these items, and things like them, important? Do I have any idea of what I am carelessly throwing away without thought?
God’s behavior and words say that you and I are the most precious things in the universe. They are worth everything; in fact, God put part of his own identity in the ultimate position of risk so that you and I could be restored our full creation. God paid the ultimate price, death, knowing that we would dither and often carelessly hold the valuables he trusted with us. My point is not to create any sense of guilt, rather to stress the extreme importance and value God places on our lives and souls.
The Bible lays out the details of God’s perspective and provides a foundation for helping us learn how we can treasure and grow from the gifts. Often I lose sight of the plot, wondering what I have that could be of important to anyone. Solomon’s advice nail’s it; “My teaching is as precious as your eyesight – guard it!” (Proverbs 7.2)
