Price Tags.
Growing up, my father used to say, “you get what you pay for, son.” and you know what I’ve learned? He’s absolutely correct. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve learned this lesson. In more recent years, a close friend of mine has referenced the imagery of “price tags”, especially with regard to the emotional and relational “prices we pay” for the decisions we make, both big and small, in all of our most important relationships. Again, brilliant and such a good thing to keep in mind.
In preparing for this post, I did a little research on price tags and discovered something interesting. Obviously, price tags alert the consumer to the price they should expect to pay for an item, however there is a masterful “ninja” psychology behind pricing that retailers cast over us like a magic spell when we’re shopping. Most items we buy are priced to entice and deceive us into a purchase. They use pricing tactics through clever marketing verbiage by saying things like “for a limited time only” or “limit only three items per customer” or the all familiar “99”. Like, I’m definitely not buying that widget for thirty bucks, but if it’s $29.99, I’m in!
Have you ever tried to “sell” yourself to someone? Maybe a new acquaintance? An employer? How about your spouse or significant other? Let’s use the latter for discussion sake.
Remember those early years when we were “shopping” for a mate and really “selling” ourselves to our partner by pouring it on big time? It was all about positioning and we made sure we were right there, in the prime spot on the end cap with a big ol’ “One Time Only” / “Get Yours Now” sign hanging over our heads! We were on our best behavior, right fellas? We are pulling out chairs, opening car doors, and writing poems and songs. We were selling the best version of us! And ladies, you know what I’m talking about as well. You were laughing at everything he said, squeezing his biceps, and telling him it’s cute when he burps like that. It’s okay. It’s what we do. This interplay to seduce and entice our lover is somehow hard wired deep within us and the formula works! Yet, I wonder if we too are employing those deceptive “ninja-like” retail sales tactics or are we bringing true value to the table? Is that special someone actually getting what they paid for or have they been dealing with the disappointing effects of buyer’s remorse?
I am reminded of a beautiful biblical illustration, recorded in all four gospels of the Bible, of a woman named Mary who spends a year’s wages, in an act of what most would consider reckless judgment, to anoint Jesus with expensive perfume. Although each account varies slightly, the essence of her love and affection for Christ is evident in all. Here is my favorite account as written in Mark;
While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages[7] and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly. "Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." - Mark 14:3–9
Do you think Mary “got what she paid for”? According to a 2019 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, the average American has an annual income of $48,672. Why was Mary compelled to “spend” the equivalent of this amount as a love offering on Jesus? One could only speculate that she had experienced a level of revelation, transformation and/or adoration from the only One who is worthy of all and worth it all. If Jesus is who He claims to be, then certainly, there is no amount of perfume nor worldly offering expensive enough to be spent or “poured out”.
Today, as we “sell” ourselves to others, I pray that they would not find us in the clearance section, unworthy of the prime end-cap because we are failing to live and love well. Rather, let us ensure that our friends, family and even strangers along the roads of our lives, get what they paid for in the best way possible.
Questions to ponder:
What is one way that you may be selling yourself short in your relationships? (i.e., lack of patience, quick to anger, etc…)
Can you think of an expensive emotional price tag you have had to pay as a result of hurting someone you love? What can you do better the next time you find yourself in a similar situation?
What stands out to you when you read the story of Mary pouring out her perfume on Jesus?