Jesus: Priceless or Nah??

Lenten Season and Easter is one of the most reflective holiday seasons as people sacrifice and attempt to further their walk with Christ in celebration of Heavenly Papa’s ultimate sacrifice for us, his son Jesus. This year, I realized that despite all my efforts to be good, I’m much better at being bad, especially before I came to this point in my walk. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not out doing repulsive things, but some of my actions make me aware that at any given moment, it’s my human nature to reject my Heavenly Papa. The heart is a sinful tool.

A penny for your thoughts, a nickel for your kiss, a dime for your love? All questions posed to show that nowadays there is monetary value placed on everything, but the question asked specifically nowadays, “How much for your soul?” In an economy where trade and bartering reign supreme and the world places more value on a dollar bill than that of morality, one must ask themselves, “what’s Jesus worth to me?”

In the story of Jesus’ time on Earth, his demise and departure cost the Romans 30 pieces of silver. Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples sold him for thirty measly pieces of silver. Some may scoff and think that is the most ridiculous thing that Judas could have done; however, we sell Jesus on a daily basis for a lot less, regardless of what we’d like to tell ourselves.

I had a conversation with my Bestie about the whole concept of no one sin being greater than the other, and how we as people have to take accountability for our actions once we decide to live a saved life and follow Jesus. When living a saved life, this means that as a Christian I must “put off [my] old self, which belongs to [my] former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of [my] mind, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” Ephesians 4:22-24). I know what is right from wrong, and although I do things incorrectly, I must attempt to do things the right way.

When I blatantly do things that I know Heavenly Papa won’t approve of, I am selling Jesus, and sometimes for a lot less than thirty pieces of silver. I am literally telling Heavenly Papa that I know you sent your son to save me, but ehhh…screw your grace. There was a time when I sold out Jesus for the potential of a relationship with this guy (and guess who didn’t end up in a relationship)? In the beginning, I had expressed to this man that I was not interested in partaking in any sexual endeavors, and he claimed to respect that, but as time moved on, he would try to pressure me into doing things. Even though I was uncomfortable with the situation, and stood firm on the no sex part, I would find myself thinking about complying with other requests that in my mind seemed not be that big of a deal. When it was all said and done, just the thought meant that I was selling Jesus and when I did agree to certain things, well…you get the drift.  

Anytime we make a conscious decision to do things that Heavenly Papa will not approve of, we’re selling Jesus. So anytime you get a little twitch in your twat, or an itch in your hot hand, and you decide that your own personal desire is worth more than what is right, you're selling Jesus. It’s the same concept with drugs, alcohol, unruliness, manipulating people for your own good, loving money before all things, etc.

Luckily for us, Heavenly Papa did send Jesus to be our saving grace and 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds me that God is faithful, and he will not let [me] be tempted beyond [my] ability, [and] with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, [and I will] be able to endure it.” Regardless of how many times I fail to please our Heavenly Papa, I know that his love is unconditional and he will constantly test me until I get it right. Some lessons take a little longer to learn, but as long as I am consciously making an effort to get it right, I put a smile on his face. I’m reminded of that every time the sun peeks through the clouds in the sky. He wouldn’t test me if he did not know I was able to handle it, and I’m hopeful that the day will come where Jesus will truly be priceless.

Hold That Thought

Every morning my Grand-Uncle sends me a text message with a daily Bible Verse. The goal is to start my day with a positive word from God which helps me focus on doing what the word says and applying it to different aspects of life resulting in me gaining a different outlook. This morning, my Uncle’s text message came in while I was brushing my teeth. My response was to click the button so that the phone would stop vibrating and continue to brush my teeth. As I continued with my routine, the phone vibrated again as a reminder that I had not checked my message. My Bestie told me that it was going off, and I replied to her, “It’s just my Uncle with the daily word.”

After the message sat there for about fifteen minutes, I moved on to fixing my hair and as I was staring in the mirror at the light bouncing off my face creating a shadow in my reflection, it dawned on me: Did I just say it’s no big deal? Did I just decide to put the “word” on pause?

More often than not, this is an action that many of us do. We get caught up in the everyday routine of life and forget to take the time to appreciate what it is that Heavenly Papa is actually doing for us. We also forget to spend time in his word. For instance, it’s almost been a month since my last post. I was too busy to sit and reflect on the words that Heavenly Papa had given me. I read every day, mostly because I have many different streams of the word coming in. I get it via text, email, phone conversations, real life conversations, church, on-the-line, the Bible, etc. You name it, I get it. The word comes to me through many different venues, but a good work spoken means nothing if I don’t take the time to hear it and apply it to my everyday life. Receiving the word had become not a big deal, and I put the word on pause, which may have led to this anxious feeling I’ve been having lately.

There are several instances in life where complacency gets the best of you and you’re not sure what more it is you should be doing, but you know that you should be doing more. You feel like you’re getting too comfortable in your present state, wherever that may be and you begin to feel a certain level of anxiousness, at least for me I do. This period has come to roost for me. Over the past month, my time spent not hearing the word, I’ve been in a constant state of worry.

Romans 10:17 lets us know that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Because I was so preoccupied with things going on in the real world, I allowed my faith to be altered. If I were to continue to hear the word and not just partake in the word, the month would have been a lot better for me. I’ve scheduled 15 minutes in my day before work and 15 minutes bed to reflect on the word that I’ve gotten for the day. In the morning, I figure out how to apply it to my life, and at night I acknowledge whether or not I did it. If I did not accomplish application, then I explore the reasons why and try again the next day.

I don’t like feeling anxious or out of sorts, so I’m going to do my best to make sure I don’t put the word on pause again. After all, when Heavenly Papa is talking to you, it’s always a big deal. If he has seen fit to put someone in my life who will share with me his word on a daily basis, I’d better begin to appreciate it because there are so many in the world who can’t hear or receive the word on any level. Heavenly Papa. Thank you.