The Price is Right

When I was young I couldn’t wait for school to be done so I could finally enjoy summer without setting an alarm clock. One of the things I liked most was being able to watch the game shows that I wasn’t able to see due to being in school.

The Price is Right was one of my favorites. I remember Bob Barker holding that long skinny microphone that looked like a twig…my sister and I used to laugh about that.

The people in the audience would all scream and shout, trying to get noticed and called to “Come on Down! You’re the next contestant on the Price is Right!”

We grew up very poor, so we would “ooh and ahh” over the prizes, whether it was a five piece luggage set or a new car. How many times did we shout just as loud as the audience, trying to get the contestant to guess the amount of a can of beans or box of Mac and cheese?

I think that was our fascination with that game show. Everything had a price, and it came down to accurately guessing the value of certain items in order for a chance at the “showcase showdown” which required accurately guessing the value of a whole assortment of various prizes.

Sometimes we’d scratch our heads when contestants would guess the price of things with total ignorance. They had no idea what things actually cost? How could you guess only $10,000 for a new car, an exotic cruise, and an entire home workout station?

I’m realizing more everyday that Christianity is a serious commitment. It requires soberly looking at the life of Christ and deciding how much value we place on His sacrifice for us.

Following Jesus Christ and walking in righteousness isn’t a flippant decision. It requires placing a higher value on the will of God for our lives than the value we place on our own free will. That’s what Jesus meant when he said if we’re going to build a tower we must first “count the cost”…we must consider what serving Christ will cost us, and if we intend to follow it through.

Christianity will cost something. Time, finances, friendships, speech, conduct, and decisions will all be impacted by following Christ.

May we count the cost of Christianity today…because the price of our salvation, the shed blood of Jesus Christ, is worth careful consideration in every decision that we make.