Cost - Value – Worth

The title should conjure up a lot of thoughts. Isn’t what it costs, what it is worth? Isn’t its value reflected on the price tag? Why would I pay more than it’s worth?

I’m thinking about several ways to compare and analyze cost, value and worth. I manufacture a widget. The material for my widget costs me $50.00. To pay a person to manipulate that material into a finished produce costs me $50.00 per hour and it takes an hour to produce it, therefore the widget costs $100.00. Now, if I sell my widget for $100.00 I make no profit and I will soon be out of business. So, I mark it up 30% to make a profit of $30.00.
But wait, I have to pay for heat, electricity, water and a few other odds and ends, so I had better mark it up 50% and make $50.00. I almost lost my shirt on that one.

To the consumer, my widget costs $150.00 and that’s a great value. Some people around the world would pay twice that for the same product. Just so they could say, “I’ve got one”. But, I’m not a large enough company to go international. That would take a lot of money and a lot of talented people to produce my widget.

So, is my widget worth $300.00? To some, maybe yes, but to others it’s not.

I’m a car guy. I like to watch the Barrett-Jackson car auction. They showcase some of the most incredible automobiles in the world and they’re “for sale”. I have owned six Corvettes and when a Corvette comes on the block, my heart races. The early Corvettes 1952 through 1967 are my favorites. The original cost for a Corvette in those years was $3,000.00 to $6,000.00. At the Barrett-Jackson today, these cars sell for $30,000 to $200,000. That would be their value in my analogy. Now, what is their worth? To the person who just paid the money, their worth is just what he/she paid for it. Sometimes they think its worth is far more than what they paid. To me, they are not worth that much. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to own one again… but, there are things in this world that have much more worth to me than owning another Corvette. Seven would be a nice number and also a biblical number, which brings me to my point.

Biblical, scriptural and spiritual cost, value and worth are my main purpose for writing this paper.

What did it cost Adam and Eve for their disobedience in the Garden of Eden? Actually, it cost them everything. It cost them their home, their own personal relationship and their relationship with God. How would you rate the value and the worth of sin?

What did it cost Lot in his disobedience in the land of Sodom and Gomorra?
It cost him his wife. How would you rate the value and worth of sin?

What did it cost King David in his disobedience with Bathsheba? It cost him his son. How would you rate the value and worth of sin?

What about you? Are you willing to pass up the best to get a passing pleasure?

The cost of an item, as discussed above, depends on what the raw materials and labor cost, plus overhead. Your raw materials probably had a cost of $4.00 - $6.00, you know, dirt. But, you were fearfully and wonderfully made. He knit you together in your mother’s womb. He knew you from the foundations of the earth.

The value of an item is what its marketability is. How well will it sell? Who will pay the price you’re asking? You were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your bodies.

Worth is in the eye of the beholder. I don’t believe that any Corvette is worth the type of money paid for it. I think that everything in this world is highly over-rated and over priced… except the soul of a man.

The cost Jesus paid for your and my sin was total obedience. He willingly went to the cross to pay the penalty for the sin of the world, every person that had been born and would be born in this world. The value He placed on you was His blood, the sacrifice of One for the many. Your worth to Him is so great that, as it has been said, “If you were the only person in the world, Jesus would still have come and died for you”.

Value and worth are also associated with how many were made. The 1953 Corvette went into production and GM was so scared that they only produced 300 units (cars). It went over well, so the next year of the 1954 Corvette 3,639 units were produced. But at the end of the 1954 season they had 1,076 left over. So, in 1955 they wanted to continue the “True American Sports Car”, but only built 700. So therefore, the worth is based on the number made.

There is only one of you. There will never be another. Even if you are a twin or a sextuplet, Your DNA is totally different from that of any one else in the world. You are special. God looks at you and sees the beauty and potential He has designed for you and you alone. It cost Jesus everything He had to make you everything you could be. So you must be very valuable and a “Pearl of Great Price”. Your worth is beyond measure.

No other religious leader has laid down his life for his followers. Most of them ask you to lay down your life for them. Most ask you to give all you have, time, money and energy to them.

Jesus says, “Come to Me and I will give you rest”. He also says, “Take up your cross and follow Me”.

The King of Kings and Lord of Lords left His Throne in heaven and came to this earth, became a man, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, rose from the dead, went back to heaven and there intercedes on our behalf. Will you accept the gift He offers? You are of great worth!

Following the Shepherd,
Ron Eskew