Misplaced Valuables

You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. Ezekiel 34:4

Lostology Law #13

A search reveals your values.

A search always reveals your values. My values changed on March 1, 1980. On that day, my bride, Lynn Marie, placed a gold ring on my finger. And from that day on I lived in fear--not of my wife, but fear of when I would lose my wedding ring.

Notice I said when not if. Keeping up with small objects has never been easy for me. Marriage did not alter that character flaw. Over the years, I have lost, searched for, and found my wedding ring numerous times. Unfortunately, the frequency with which I lost my ring increased over time. 1990 was a bad year.

First I lost my ring at the health club. Family friction mounted, then eased when a club staff member found the ring among the dirty towels. Later that year, I lost my ring again. This time, I was clueless about its location. Lynn Marie always took it hard when I lost my wedding ring, so I usually searched incognito for as long as possible. I finally got desperate and half-jokingly asked a lady at our church to pray I would find my ring. A strange thing happened. The next day, Lynn Marie walked up and asked, "Did you leave your ring in the guest room?" I took the ring. "Guess I did," I replied, and placed it on my finger. Squeaked through another scare, I told myself.

Perhaps God felt I had congratulated myself too much on that search and rescue operation. Soon I faced the climactic challenge, the big one, the mother of all ring losses.

During a water balloon fight with the kids from our church in a local park, I lobbed my wedding ring along with a water-swollen balloon toward an unsuspecting kid. Instant trouble. Only I didn't know the ring was missing until I arrived back at my office. By then, the chances of finding that ring were approximately the same as being able to glue together all the busted balloons scattered across that park.

Driven by the twin emotions of dread and resolve, I began my search. "What are you looking for?" people asked. "My wedding ring," I replied, hoping they had picked it up. "Oh, that's too bad," the women said, with pained expressions on their faces. Not so with the men. They gave me knowing nods that said, "Your fat's in the fire now, buddy." They were right.

I never found that ring. Not because I didn't look, you understand. Faithfully, earnestly, devotedly, I scoured the ground, scuffing around, picking through branches, and shifting through piles of debris. In the history of mankind and wedding rings, no one has ever demonstrated greater commitment to a matrimonial symbol. I valued that ring. No one doubted that . . . not even my wife.

But the grim reality settled upon me: that ring was history. Defeated, I broke the news to Lynn Marie. She said she was crushed. But she knew how to deal with our loss. New, matching wedding rings--that would dull the pain, she said. Caught without recourse, I conceded. Off we trooped, checkbook in hand, new rings in our hearts.

I searched for my old ring because I valued that ring. When I lose my new ring (note the when . . . not if), I will search for it also. A search always reveals our values.

Value Judgments

Recall two things you have lost--one you searched for and one you didn't. Let's start with the item you lost then searched for. Got it in mind? Consider these questions:

• Why did you search for it?
• How long did you search?
• If your search was successful, how did you feel?
• If your search was unsuccessful, how did you feel?

Now think about the item you lost but did not search for. Got it? Ask yourself these questions:

• Why didn't you search?
• How did you feel about losing the item?
• What did you do to compensate for the loss?

We rarely stop and think about our decisions to search for lost items. Instinctively, we make decisions to search or not search based on personal criteria. We gain insight if we reflect on the decisions we make:

We search for what we value. If we lose something and choose not to search for it, we essentially say we place little value on that item. Actions, not words, reveal our values.

Losing items of minimal value is an inconvenience. Losing something of great value can be a tragedy.

Disposable items can always be replaced. However, some lost valuables create a void no substitute can fill.

The more we value something that is lost, the longer we search for it. For items of minimal value, we search for a few minutes. For items of high value, we search for hours. For items of infinite value, we search indefinitely.

If we switch our focus from lost things to lost people, the issues change dramatically. Lostology helps us make this shift. If a search always reveals our values, what does a lack of evangelism reveal? As lostologists, we know the answer. No search . . . no value.

The Highest Value

Throughout Jesus' earthly ministry, people tried to write mission statements for Him:

• The excitable crowd urged Jesus to be their political messiah, the long-awaited one who would lead the Jews to throw off Rome's military domination.
• The religious types expected Jesus to be a good rabbi, to teach the people without stirring up trouble or challenging the religious assumptions of the day.
• Home town acquaintances expected Jesus to blend into community life--working as the son of the carpenter, another sibling among sisters and brothers, a good son who would care for his mother.

Jesus resisted all who tried to set His mission for Him. He knew why He had come. Jesus explained His mission succinctly in Luke 19: 10: "For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost."

Jesus' mission on earth centered on searching for lost people. Why? Values. Jesus' mission grew out of God's value system. In Matthew 18:14, Jesus affirmed the value His heavenly Father placed on people: "In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost."

Driven by his heavenly Father's value system, Jesus centered His earthly ministry on lost people:

Jesus personally searched for lost people. Lost people sensed His love. Jesus invested much of His time interacting with lost people, explaining spiritual truths to them, and helping them find the relationship with God for which they longed.

Jesus trained a spiritual search and rescue force. For over three years, He equipped his disciples with the values and skills to minister to lost people. His final commission to them was to launch a worldwide mission to find the lost.

Jesus empowered His disciples so they could multiply His search and rescue team. The Book of Acts and Christian history reveal the impact of His strategy and the effectiveness of those mobilized to share the good news.

Jesus offered hope to all who seek God. He died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay the sin-debt that separates lost people from God. He paid every account in full. He built the bridge for lost people to travel on their way home to God.

If a search reveals values, Jesus' values blazed bright. People mattered to Him. As a result He searched for them . . . for us. Why? Because God values us; God loves us.

The apostle John captured the emotional impact of this search when he wrote in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." No greater statement of value has ever been made. This objective standard of value is the measure against which we must evaluate our actions as Christians.

Feeble Excuses

In spite of God's love for people and His assessment of value for each of us, Christians still struggle with evangelism. As a Christian insider, I have struggled as much as anyone. Along the way, many of us have rationalized why we don't share our faith more often or more effectively. Have you heard (or even used) any of these?

Evangelism is not my gift. Since it's not my gift, people shouldn't pressure me to share my faith. I need to discover my gifts and use them in my ministry. Until then, leave me alone.

I don't have time. With my involvement in church and ministry, I'm simply too busy to develop relationships with lost people. Sure, I could make time for that, but think of all the good things I'd have to stop doing.

I don't know any non-Christians. Since I became a Christian, I'm just not comfortable around secular people. Inevitably, they do things and say things that have a negative impact on those around them, including me. Hasn't God called us to be separate and holy people?

I need more training. I need to learn more about evangelism before I do evangelism. But don't suggest Continuing Witness Training, Evangelism Explosion, or any other course which includes actual experiences in witnessing. I prefer to learn about evangelism in ways that don't involve talking with lost people.

No matter how we shine up these rationalizations, they dull in light of God's value system. If God loved us enough to launch the ultimate spiritual search for us, what should we do with the lost people around us? Obviously, we should tell them about the God who loves them. Failure to go and tell reveals a sick value system that needs a transfusion of God's love.

Facing the Truth

How ironic that most Christians struggle so much with evangelism. Ask us why and we may claim we don't know what to say. Press us and we may say we feel uncomfortable talking with non-Christians. Push further and we may admit we are afraid our efforts to share our faith could do more harm than good.

Yet the deeper truth may be darker. If a search reveals values, a decision not to search also reveals values. Perhaps we don't seek to share our faith more because people are not really valuable to us. If so, we must confront the fact that people do not matter to us as much as they matter to God.

Facing this uncomfortable truth may be the first step in adjusting our thinking, our living, and our values. In reality, we probably do not need more training in evangelism. We simply need new hearts . . . and more love.

If we valued people as God values people, we would live differently. As lostologists, let's be honest enough to drop the rationalizations and confront the real issues. Any search or no search always reveals our values.

The Lostology Lab

1. When you lose an item, how do you decide if you will search for it or not? How do you decide how long you will search?
2. How are your personal values revealed in the type of search you launch for items you lose?
3. How did Jesus reveal the value He placed on lost people by the way He lived His life on earth?
4. What value do you place on lost people? How do your actions reveal your values?
5. Do you find that what you do in evangelism is sometimes inconsistent with the value you claim to place on lost people? How do you deal with this inconsistency?
6. What reasons or rationalizations do you use with yourself or with others to explain why you do not devote more time to sharing your faith with lost people?
7. Do you find it is easier to talk about evangelism, and learn about evangelism, than to actually do evangelism? If so, how have you seen this in your life?
8. How well do your values about lost people line up with God's values about lost people? Do you want God to change your values?
9. If God changed your value system regarding lost people, how would that change the way you live on a daily basis?

Coming Next: Searching for the Right Price

We live in a world of discounts. Can we ever expect a spiritual search to be anything less than costly? Our next study tackles this issue.