January 31 - The Price is Steep
January 31
The Price is Steep
Bible Reading: Jeremiah 29:11-13
11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
HAVE YOU EVER seen the game show The Price Is Right? It's been on TV since Noah was a teenager. One of the games contestants play on the show involves matching different products with the correct prices. See if you can match the items in the first list with the price tags in the second list:
1. NEWSPAPER
2. NEW MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE
3. BOTTLED WATER (16 OZ.)
4. ONE-MINUTE COMMERCIAL DURING MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
5. POSTAGE STAMP
6. COMPUTER WITH MONITOR, PRINTER, CD-ROM
7. SCHOOL LUNCH
8. 1910 HONUS WAGNER BASEBALL CARD
9. FAX MACHINE
10. VISIT TO THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE
A. $800,000
B. $1,500
C. $400
D. $1.75
E. $75
F. $25,000
G. $1.00
H. $1.25
I. $451,000
J. 45¢
Now, the price of some of those items may seem steep, $451,000 for a baseball card? (That's what hockey great Wayne Gretzky and a partner paid for the rare card in 1991.) Others-like a postage stamp or a newspaper-may seem like bargains by comparison.
To be honest, sometimes the price of doing the right thing can be pretty steep, too. Sometimes doing the right thing can make you feel like a party pooper or a geek. It might cost you a friend. It might cost you money. It's even cost people their lives. It's enough to make you wonder why anybody would choose to do right.
There's no doubt about it, doing the right thing can be hard. It can seem dumb. But though it may seem hard at the time, the price of doing wrong is usually steeper--maybe not right away, but in the long run. Doing wrong can end up costing you friends. It can get you in really big trouble. It could even cost you your life ... and your soul.
That's what God's trying to tell us in today's Scripture reading. He does not promise that we will be rewarded in this life for every right choice we make. But He does promise that obeying His commands will accomplish our good--maybe not right now, but in the long run, and certainly in eternity. As Proverbs 21:21 says, "Whoever pursues godliness and unfailing love will find life, godliness, and honor."
REFLECT: Have you ever made the wrong choice because the cost of making the right choice seemed too high? Are you glad you made the choice you did? Would you do it differently if you could?
PRAY: "God, help me to do the right thing, even when it's hard to ______________________."
ANSWERS: 1G; 2F; 3H; 4A; 5J; 6B; 7D; 8I; 9C; 10E