How much does it cost?

I have some friends in Las Vegas for a conference.  They are in direct sales with a company called Nerium International.  (They are Jolynn Sullivan, Joy Appel, and Emily (Appel) Grogg.)  My wife Diane was in direct sales with Partylite for many years and did very well.  The friends who are in Vegas right now are being pumped up to go home and sell and get their friends selling.  They can do that only if they believe in their product, and they do.  Diane believed in the quality of the candles she sold, and likely still thinks they are the best candles on the market.

My friends in Vegas are asking their Facebook friends if they would be interested in a product that decreases their stress by 70% and decreases fatigue by 79%.  One person asked how much it costs.  When I read that, I had an epiphany… a light bulb moment.  We always ask, “How much does it cost?” While that is a valid question, there is another question that is just as valid: “How much is it worth?”  How much is it worth to you to have more energy?  How much is it worth to you to feel less stressed?  Keep in mind I am not selling Nerium, but as I always do, I am about to take you deeper.

One of my favorite parables from the Bible referencing the cost and the value can be found in Matthew 13:44:

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.“

There was no concern about what the cost was.  The man found something so valuable that he was willing to give up everything to gain it.  If you can have the kingdom of heaven, is not the cost irrelevant?  Missionary Jim Elliot wrote in his journal in 1949: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” This was five years before he lost his life (on this side of eternity) in the mission field.  What Elliot gained through following Jesus was far greater – so much so that the cost was worth it.

I do not know how well the new Nerium product works, but I have no doubt that whatever the cost of following Christ, it is worth it.

*

*

*

*