How Much Is God Worth To You?

How Much Is God Worth

4/13/97 Proverbs 3:1-15 1 Timothy 6:6-21 Text Luke 7:36

Some things hold their value no matter where you go or when you go. If you took a time travel machine and had some diamonds, you could be sure you had something of great value because of its makeup. Other things hold value only because we give value to it from things inside of us.

The difference between a pair of $25 Spaulding shoes and $150 pair Nike shoes is not found in the value of the materials, but in the different status symbol we get to wear. It is as though our importance is defined by the kind of shoe we are willing to wear in public. Yet in 20 years, we will look back and laugh at our addiction to certain labels, and brands, because they will have been forgotten and something new will be on the horizon.

Is God valued like a diamond in our lives? Precious regardless of the times and circumstances we are going through. Or is God more like a brand name label? As long as He makes me feel good, or is popular with the group I’m with, then He’s all right.

It is amazing at how we talk about the importance of God in our lives, and yet we value Him so cheaply. The true value of how much we love God, can be seen in the way we handle our possessions with Him. Jesus said, "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." What would you think of a man, who drove around in a Lexus, had a Rolex watch on his arm, and wore nothing but the best of suits. He fell in love with a young lady, and offered to marry her. He presented her with the a beautiful zirconium ring that looked like a diamond but wasn’t. When confronted about the cheapness of the ring, he replied, "Well it’s the thought that counts." Why do we often give God the thought and not the real thing? Could it be we don’t think God is worth all that much in relation to the other things in our lives.

I want you to meet Tabitha. Tabitha grew up thinking she was in charge of her life. She could do what she wanted to do as long as she didn’t hurt anybody. Tabitha wanted money, she wanted love and she wanted acceptance. I don’t know if she was blessed or cursed with good looks but the older she got, the more attractive she became. Tabitha didn’t like the rules at home, so she moved out. She didn’t have much of an education and quickly found out that job opportunities were limited.

Even though she didn’t think she would, Tabitha found herself one night selling herself as a prostitute. The money was quick and easy. She told herself nobody got hurt. So she did it again and again and again. Each time her own self esteem dropped lower and lower and lower. She had money, she had men, but she didn’t have the love and acceptance she wanted.

As Tabitha’s reputation spread around town, life was even less enjoyable for her. The women saw her and her beauty as a threat to their marriages. The men were only interested in sex. The money in the bank was just money. Tabitha wanted a way out of this mess in her life, but she didn’t know how to end it. In her own eyes, she was the worst of sinners. She didn’t go to the temple. How could God even care about someone like her.

Simon on the other hand seemed to have everything going for him. He was a good boy growing up. Was in church practically all his life. He rarely got in trouble in school. His parents could boast, that Simon barely gave them a day of trouble growing up. Simon felt real good about himself. Now he knew he wasn’t perfect, but he thought of himself as a really good person.

He obeyed his parents for the most part. He was hard worker. He loved God and felt a call to go in the ministry. He wanted to be a religious teacher of the highest degree. He enrolled in school and studied to become a Pharisee. Simon was serious in his studies and came out a fine graduate. He was very well respected within his community and others looked up to him.

One day Simon heard about the teachings of Jesus and was sort of impressed by them. He even went to listen to Jesus preach. He wasn’t quite sure if Jesus was really a prophet or perhaps the Messiah, but he wanted to find out for himself. He figured if he could have Jesus to himself for a while, he could get a better feel on whether or not Jesus was for real. So he went up and asked Jesus, if he would consider coming to his house the next day for dinner say around 5.