Landscaping; is it going to increase our property value when we sell our home, or will it be a detraction? Will a prospective buyer be thrilled at the prospect of harvesting fruit from an espaliered apple or peach tree, or will they consider it to be a nuisance to be cut down?
We have seen true heartbreak come to gardeners who sold beautifully landscaped gardens. I have rescued many an iris or rose or daylily from houses recently bought by non-gardeners.
The things that would add value to a house to me would be considered a maintenance nightmare by another. Value, as beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
Likewise, the houses in your neighborhood can bring the value of your home up or bring it down. Experts advise not to put too much into your home by way of improvements if the nearby property values will be far below what you’ll need to get for your house when the time comes to sell it.
This is because some people – probably most people – place a value on where they live and how well off the neighbors seem to be. (“Well off” in this case, of course, means whether they can afford the same square footage or amenities that you do, not necessarily how cozy or charming their smaller houses look.)
Whatever the reason, we are all familiar with the concept of value. That young family down the street may be thrilled with their two-bedroom, one bath abode and tiny fenced yard, and value it highly, but that has nothing to do with perceived market value.
The same is true with our souls. We all have a tremendous value. Everyone, even the most horrible person you know about, has had Jesus Christ himself suffer and die for their sins. With that immense cost, it shows the value of a soul. What could possibly de-value it?
For one thing, a soul can de-value himself or herself. No one can snatch us out of the hand of the Father, but we can leave of our own accord. When we count as rubbish the sacrifice of Christ, it can no longer save us from our sins, which detract from our value.
Secondly, our spiritual “neighborhood” can lower our value as a Christian, and make us ineffective. When we choose to associate and even emulate the values of the world, we become like them. There may have been countless expensive “improvements” put into our lives in the form of good parenting and grandparenting, a Christian education, and a great church, but when we choose to be around the more lowly elements of the world, those “improvements” do us little good, just like adding the sunroom or patio didn’t help the home value.
Third, the habits that we cultivate can devalue our lives. A good wife may be valued “far above rubies,” but if sloth or drinking or impure activities enter into our lives, it’s as bad as having a weed-filled landscape instead of a tidy one. Just as my new acquaintance Lauren didn’t value the espaliered fruit trees or the heirloom roses, we may dig out and burn the best attributes of Christianity in favor of something more popular or common. We may find out too late how invasive and destructive those habits are.
You are bought with a price. It was a HUGE price. I’d say, “Stay classy,” but that doesn’t matter. Stay HOLY.
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