Bargain Hunters

TITLE: BARGAIN HUNTERS

SCRIPTURE: ST. LUKE 14:25-35

We live in a society that loves bargains. Everybody loves a bargain. It is a great feeling when you pay very little but you get a lot. Bargain hunters seem to be everywhere you turn. No one wants to pay full price for anything nowadays. That’s why -

• We go to garage sales

• We search the classified ads

• We wait for the sales in our local stores

• We wait for Memorial Day – Fourth of July – Presidents Day sales

• We wait for Black Friday

• We wait for Tax Free Weekend

• We even shop on E-Bay

And the basic mantra of the bargain hunter is –

• What is the least amount I have to pay in order to get as many benefits as possible?

• How do I sacrifice a little and still get all the good stuff?

• Everybody seems to love a bargain

We love to get a good deal because we are all 'bargain' hunters to some extent. Very few people desire to pay retail for anything. Yet at times, what begins to be a bargain turns out to cost too much in the long run.

--I am reminded of a lady she was new in a community and was driving down the streets to get the lay of the land. She saw a beauty salon with $7 haircuts advertised. She mused to herself, "How can the other shops compete with a $7 haircut?" Down the block she saw another salon whose ad read, "We repair $7 haircuts." It seems what started out as a deal, became a big deal, and then was an ordeal.

Bargaining has another meaning besides this thought of getting something at a low cost or cheap. I do realize there is a big difference between inexpensive and cheap. Bargaining carries the idea of bartering, negotiating, or haggling. For those that enjoy travelling or vacationing out of the country you will note in many foreign market places you can negotiate, barter, or bargain the price of goods that you want to buy; that is just part of their custom. Just like buying a car as well, no one ever pays the sticker price. Although we know the vehicle is already marked up tremendously, we feel we have a bargain when we negotiate the price down and hear the car salesperson say “we are doing this just for you.” Yea, sure you are, but it makes us feel good because we think we have saved some money.

Let me tell you that Sis. Lawson is a joy and I appreciate her so much, but i will not go to the grocery store with her. She will walk up and down the aisle and over to the next aisle and then back to the first aisle and take something from the shelf and finally put it in the cart. She is checking prices and discounts and all that in an effort to get the best deal she can. I am all frustrated when I go with her, just pick up the Spaghetti Sauce or bag of Sugar, put it in the cart and let’s get out of here. So I appreciate her always trying to save us a few dollars here and there. But I still won’t go with her to the grocery store.

Can I tell you this morning Church that sometimes the bargain we are looking for isn’t always a material thing. Sometimes we search for bargains in or spiritual life.

• There are times in our spiritual lives when we want all the blessings of heaven - but with the least amount of sacrifice possible

• There are times when our Christian lives are lived in such a way that we seem to be saying, “What is the least amount that I have to do and still receive all the good stuff of heaven?”

• We expect God to bless us with the least amount of our commitment

During our School Years if we played various sports in order to get into the game we had to be committed to make practice –

• Football we were committed to Two A Days no matter how hot it was outside in preparation for the new season

• Basketball in order to get in the game we had to make practice - we were committed

• Earning that College or University or Tech School degree it took intestinal fortitude we had to be committed 4-5 years and longer for advanced degrees – it took commitment, no bargains offered

When it comes to our Christian Journey and Faith, it seems most Christians look for a BARGAIN BLESSING. Now this kind of attitude is nothing new to our generation. This kind of attitude has been around for thousands of years, including the time when Jesus walked on this earth. The Gospel Writer LUKE tells us in CH. 9:51, “AS THE TIME APPROACHED FOR HIM TO BE TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN, JESUS RESOLUTELY SET OUT FOR JERUSALEM.” Now Jerusalem was the place where Jesus would ultimately die on the cross. So when the Bible tells us He was going to Jerusalem it is saying Jesus was choosing to go to the place where eventually He would give His life for those He loved.