What the World Values

We had the appraisal on the house we are selling a couple of days ago. I spent all day cleaning like a mad woman, dusting, sweeping, picking up and lighting every candle known to man. I thought if the appraiser walked in and saw a clean house and it smelled good then it would definitely raise the value, right? I even imagined him in my head going back to work and saying to his co-workers, “you are never going to believe the house I just went in, it was SOOO clean and it smelled of cinnamon and freshly baked cookies.” I was so proud of myself! My poor children only had a few toys they were aloud to drag out all day. Well the time came and the man came in and I don’t think he even noticed my candles, he pulled out his tape measure, zipped through my house in no time and then was gone. He did however in a round about way ask why I lived where I live. I was able to share with him the short version of our story. After he left I started looking out my window and noticing some of the houses around me. I started thinking about how the world we live in places value on the way things appear. Any “normal” person coming into our neighborhood would not see value in the run down house around the corner, they would not see value in the dirty 9 year old in my backyard that probably has not had a clean shirt in weeks, they would not see value in the 75 year old woman next door who lives on a fixed income, doesn’t have central heat and air and still hangs her clothes out back to dry. But there is someone that places great value on those people. There is someone that looked down on humanity when we did not look so pretty, cleaned up and definitely did not smell good and saw value in us. So much so that he sent his only son to die for us that we might live! I am so glad that I serve a God who does not place value in what the world values.