Valuable-of great importance, use, or service.

"A man will give all he has for his life." This saying reminds us that we consider our lives to be very important to us. It might amaze you as to who said this in the Bible. It was Satan when he was trying to lead Job away from God. God had already allowed Satan to take away Job's wealth and his family. Now Satan argues that if he could take away Job's health, he would curse God because he would think that God had taken away that which was most valuable to him.

How do we show that our lives and health are very important to us?
We may pay up to five or six thousand dollars a year on health insurance to cover medical costs which may happen.
Charges for medicine, hospital care, surgeries etc. are extremely high because people are will to pay for those services to maintain their health.
Doctors are among the highest paid professionals in the world.
We would defend ourselves and our families to the death if someone would threaten our well being.
We will indeed give all we have for our lives. Not only do we consider being alive and our health to be important, we also consider our standard of living to be valuable. Many will spend much more than they need to on the necessities because they hope to portray a higher standard of living than that which is really necessary. 
Most of us need transportation. But won't a $5000.00 older car get us around just as reliably as a $15000.00 car even though not as stylish?
Most of us need a place to live. But do we really need to live in a $150,000.00 home?
It is good to wear clothes. Won't second clothes keep us as warm as brand new clothes?
We need to eat and drink. But does it have to be in a restaurant or in a bar.

I propose that living in our society today is much more difficult than it was at times of recession or even in the depression. Certainly, it was a difficult time in our nation when money was scarce, food supplies were limited, and consumer goods were rare. But it lead people to rely on God and to appreciate that which they worked for. Living in our society now is much more difficult because we are led to put too much value in the things of this world and to forget about God who gives us live and eternal life. 
Note how God warned against such misplaced value: Deuteronomy 8.

11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

Matthew 6
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

In a world that is filled with more stuff than we can store and in which we tend to either hoard our wealth or use it up foolishly on our own pleasures, we have demonstrated repeatedly that we do not always consider valuable that which is most important.

Which of the following is the most important thing we can have? A fine house that is a showpiece. A vacation place up north. The latest model car or pickup truck. Designer clothes. A good education. Good health. Or eternal life. 

What is the most important thing we can be doing in life? Amassing wealth for ourselves. Spending what we have on pleasures. Staying healthy. Growing in the faith. Sharing the Gospel with others.

We must be careful that our mouths don't give one answer and our actions show quite a different attitude.

Not so with God. He tells us how valuable our lives are.

Psalm 49:7 through Psalm 49:15
7 No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him-
8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough-
9 that he should live on forever
and not see decay.
10 For all can see that wise men die;
the foolish and the senseless alike perish
and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses? forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had? named lands after themselves.
12 But man, despite his riches, does not endure;
he is? like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.

Selah
14 Like sheep they are destined for the grave,?
and death will feed on them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning;
their forms will decay in the grave,?
far from their princely mansions.
15 But God will redeem my life? from the grave;
he will surely take me to himself.

Matthew 16:24 through Matthew 16:28
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 
25 For whoever wants to save his life? will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

God considers you soul to be the most precious thing in the world even when we don't recognize that. And God doesn't just say that. He did something very special in order to demonstrate how valuable you are to him.

God made the ultimate sacrifice.
He sent his Son into a world which did not recognize him and which would hate him and kill him.
God sent his Son to keep the law in our place which showed that he always put that which is most important first. He did not live in a house, wear fine clothes, eat sumptuous meals, drive a fancy car, get a good education, or indulge in pleasure. He put the needs of his disciples, the crowds, and us first repeatedly.
Jesus paid the ultimate price for our salvation.

18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

This is the Good News of Jesus Christ. God's Son giving his life on the cross so that he might save the souls of wretched sinners from hell. He died for us so that we might die to sin and live for him. He put us first when we would rather put anything else first in our lives. 1 Corinthians.

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

What is to be our response? 22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.? 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God

Love your brothers. Love one another deeply from the heart. Live for Jesus showing that he is of value to you.

It is indisputable from God's Word that the most valuable thing is the salvation of our souls. Jesus himself shed his blood that you might have eternal life through faith in him. How will that affect the importance that you place on the Gospel Ministry? 

Normally, we spend time being involved with something we consider to be important. How much time do you spend involved in the ministry of the Word and the work of the church?

Normally, we use our talents to promote something we consider to be important. How much do you use you God given talent to spread the word of salvation?

Normally, we spend money (a lot of money) regularly on things of value (such as cars, clothes, homes, food, and health care). Since God shows that the Gospel Ministry is the most important thing in the whole world, should we not also spend money (a lot of money) regular on the support of our church and missions?

The Gospel Ministry (the sharing of God's Word) is priceless. May God forgive us for ignoring that fact and may God lead us to demonstrate its value more! Amen.