I needed two sheets of thin plywood for a project. We traveled to the store, put on our masks and walked directly to the area, not wanting to linger in the store. The first thing I saw was some Poplar wood material. I grabbed two sheets and was ready to go. Then I saw this bin near it. This wood was the same size but was less than half the cost and was perfect for my needs. I slipped the two poplar sheets back in their bin and then grabbed the cheaper ones and headed to check out.
It was a self check out station with one of those hand laser scanner devices that makes me feel like I am in a science fiction movie. Cindy zapped the first piece of wood and then the second. She asked me to confirm the prices. I starred at the screen. I took a second for my mind to catch up with my eyes. The two prices were different than I expected and different from each other. I felt fortunate that I had taken a picture of the price on the bin so I could show it to the attendant. It has happened to me often enough that I regularly take the verification photo to the check out register.
I looked at the scan tag on the wood. The first said that it was a 2’ by 8’ piece of wood. Since it was standing on the floor and only reached my elbow I knew that it was miss marked. Maybe it had been cut in half and the tag had not been changed, I figured we could solve the problem I looked at the second sheet. It was a Poplar piece that must have been put in the wrong bin. I showed the attendant the obvious mislabeled wood. They did not seem interested. I knew that I had to get a new piece so I carried the two back to the plywood section, searched through the bin to find two pieces that were rightly marked and set them aside. I resolved the Poplar wood and left the wrong marked wood on the ground. I hoped it would get noticed, but assumed that it got resolved by a helpful worker. The next guy at the register may catch it or they may not. Always check the price.
We live in a world where we are constantly deciding if we are willing to pay the price. Will we pay the price for character change, for relational improvement? Will we pay the price to be a great friend? Will we pay the price to grow in our mind, body or spirit? The problem is that sometimes we are fooled by our eyes and pursue the wrong direction. We spend precious energy on things that don’t matter, that cannot fulfill us. We end up at the register with the wrong stuff at the wrong price and have to start all over again.
Decided what you want, carefully chart a course to that goal, calculate the price and then start the payments. Reject substitutes, refuse to pay extravagantly for what can only be had with repentance. The evil one wants you to believe that you need to pay the price of perfection, of working to be good, of being justified by behavior. The gospel is that Jesus has paid the price. You are accepted in love. All you need is to receive his love.