Oranges And Diamonds

“On the night of April 14, 1912, the great ocean-liner Titanic crashed into an iceberg in the Atlantic and sank, causing great loss of life. One of the most curious stories to come from the disaster was of a woman who had a place in one of the lifeboats.

“She asked if she could return to her stateroom for something and was given just three minutes. As she hurried through the corridors, she stepped over money and precious gems that littered the floor where they had been dropped in haste. In her own stateroom she ignored her own jewelry, and instead grabbed three oranges and returned to her place in the boat.

“Just hours earlier it would have been ludicrous to think she would have accepted a crate of oranges in exchange for even one small diamond, but circumstances had suddenly transformed all the values aboard the ship. Oranges were now more precious than diamonds” (preaching.com).

In a similar way, choosing to serve God should alter our value systems. We see it happen often in the Bible. Moses chose ill-treatment with God’s people over the riches of Egypt (Heb. 11:24-26). Peter, Andrew, James, and John chose to leave their nets to follow Christ (Mk. 1:16-20). Saul of Tarsus chose to trade Pharisaical stardom for beatings, imprisonments, and shipwrecks (2 Cor. 11:23-25). Matthew chose following the Messiah over a lucrative gig as a tax collector (Matt. 9:9). Simon the Zealot directed his zeal to a different cause.

When we give our lives to Christ, our priorities should change. Are we called to do exactly as the examples just listed? Not necessarily. But we measure value with a different yardstick now. The silver and gold of the world loses its sparkle in the shadow of the cross of Christ. Like Peter, it is the blood of Christ that is truly precious to us now (1 Peter 1:18–19). Jobs, careers, and causes can be good and often necessary things, but we should never value them more than following Christ.

God loves you!

Mike