What’s your Price?
The television show Fear Factor is based on the idea that everyone has a price. If the price is right, anyone will do anything at any given time – from eating live slugs to being placed in a glass coffin with thousands of snakes, worms and hissing cockroaches. Every week millions of viewers tune in to see if people just like them would be willing to conquer their fears for money. Quantifying revulsion has proven to be amusing and profitable for network television.
It’s one thing to ask someone how much it would cost for them to wear a silly outfit in public or parachute out of an airplane or eat something gross. These things are morally neutral. But there are some things that shouldn’t ever have a price – things like integrity, honesty, morality, our commitment to God and to our family. These things are not a game. Every Christian should periodically ask, “Do I have a price? What would it take for me to compromise?”
It would be nice to think that followers of Christ do not have a price; that with an initial one-time commitment to Jesus comes a lifelong, resolute loyalty. And yet, it is not uncommon to find people who claim to be Christians cheating on their taxes, padding their expense accounts and stealing from their workplace. A Christian’s commitment to God should be such that he or she will obey him no matter what he or she is offered to compromise.
Many of the great characters in the Bible struggled with major character flaws. Moses wrestled with his anger, Solomon with narcissism, Samson with his lack of self-control. For King Saul, it was insecurity. He was more concerned about gaining honor and prestige in the eyes of men than in pleasing God.
It’s unbelievable the lengths to which people will go to rationalize their rebellion. “I just threw the gold in the fire, and out came this calf! What could I have done?” The idea is so preposterous. We want to grab Aaron by the collar and shake him, “Do you really expect Moses to buy that? How stupid do you think God is?” But before we get too puffed up with righteous indignation, perhaps we should examine some of our own rationalizations. Our excuses probably sound just as lame when they are spoken out loud. “But God wants me to be happy.” “She just wasn’t meeting my needs.” “The Lord helps those who help themselves, doesn’t he?” Try saying those at the foot of the cross and you’ll hear how absurd they sound.
The Bible never says God wants you to be happy; he wants you to be holy. He wants you to be like Christ. That may lead to happiness ultimately, but it doesn’t work the other way around. The quest for happiness will never lead to a life of holiness, but the quest for holiness leads to a life characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These come as a byproduct of pursuing God above all else.
What is your price?
