Their Real Worth

 
     Last week, I backed myself into a corner. I do it all the time. My kids each have one diaper left per each of them and that means…that means…oh, I can hardly bear to say it.


Wal-mart.

It’s time to go to Wal-mart. I hate that place. It’s not just Wal-mart, it’s Costco too. And every other store that challenges me to my core. I have to be very intentional about sorting through needs and wants, while trying my darndest to stick to a list. Last week, I had to get the kids diapers, wipes, and do some grocery shopping. Per our budget, I usually jump around to a couple stores before my shopping is finished, but I try to knock out certain staples at Wal-mart. This last week my husband came along to help shepherd the children, and in typical husband fashion, he played my conscience, “Do you need that? Why are you getting that? Do you usually get that?”  We were in the check out line and as the prices of certain items appeared in neon green on a screen, I cringed. I usually don’t think like this, but in a moment of weakness I thought it,

Having kids is so freaking expensive.

I mean, we bought diapers, wipes, fifty million snacks to get us through the week, new panties for Sonora because hers get eaten [lost] in the laundry, and a new cup for the baby since I left hers at church, and now we’re getting into the $100 range. It’s enough to make any budgeting family clench their jaws real hard and wonder how we do this every month and survive. It’s enough to remind me what all I had to say ‘no’ to.
It must have been the Holy Spirit in me because I was having a total flesh centered moment here as the screen added up our purchases. I looked at my kids and heard this, “Considering their worth, they really don’t cost you that much.” 
I put the brakes on in my mind to chew on that.
        The prices we pay for stuff are based on their value. Nice house, functioning vehicle, food, diamond ring- everything has worth and a price to match. When I saw my kids with a price tag next to them (which is what I was doing by complaining about what they cost me), it was really fast that I began to wipe that notion from my mind.

The truth is, children do cost money. They are not free to raise, even with help from the government [just to ward off any snide comments]. I am especially blessed because I belong to a very generous family that purchases a good portion of my children’s clothes, and gifts for holidays. And still, my kids cost me...because you have to calculate babysitters, and take-out on the days that I just couldn't get dinner done! Hold on though, my children are worth it. In fact, you can have anything of mine, anything material if I had to give it, but I would never want to part with my children. Isn’t it ironic? I complain about what my children cost me because I have to sacrifice things of lesser worth to afford them. The heart issue here is that I take my children for granted. I don’t stop to realize what they are really worth to me, or worth to God.

      Our culture (even some churches) places so little value on children, and you know why? Because their parents do. It starts there. Parents do not invest the time into disciplining and molding their children [because they aren’t worth the time] and then we have a generation of little terrors, that understandably, others are hesitant to spend time with. It really makes me sad that even though I was valued by my parents, I still bought into the lie that overall, children are not worth that much. They’re a dime a dozen. People keep having them. They can’t afford them [or can they? They just choose to spend their money on other things].  Now they are the government's "problem." And we just know how much people LOVE paying taxes that will eventually pay for other people's children!

The truth is, considering the value and worth my children hold, they are inexpensive. They cost me little. If their lives were in danger, I would sell everything to care for them. That’s just talking about their value when held up against a monetary system. The Bible says our children are our protection. The Bible says our children are a defense against the enemy. The Bible says I have no chance of understanding God’s kingdom without watching my children and behaving out of the same innocence they possess. The Bible says that one of the harshest punishments that will be doled out is on those who lead children astray.

I think one of the grievous things that parents [and society] can do to lead children astray is to let them know they are not worth what they cost. What a horrible lie. I’m so glad God caught me that day, pitying myself as I meditated on a lie that has penetrated our society to its core. The problem is not the children, it is so far from the children….it is selfishness, entitlement, and zero self-control. These things though, they are just fillers. These are just things people have taken on, demons society has established to bandage up the problems of rejection and of course, low self-worth. God help me if I ever look at my children again and think they cost too much.