SERMON: THE VALUE OF A PERSON

THE VALUE OF A PERSON
22 June 2008

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 2 Samuel 9

1. David asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"
2. Now there was a servant of Saul's household named Ziba. They called him to appear before David, and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" "Your servant," he replied.
3. The king asked, "Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show God's kindness?" Ziba answered the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet."
4. "Where is he?" the king asked. Ziba answered, "He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar."
5. So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.
6. When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, "Mephibosheth!" "Your servant," he replied.
7. "Don't be afraid," David said to him, "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table."
8. Mephibosheth bowed down and said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?"
9. Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family.
10. You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master's grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
11. Then Ziba said to the king, "Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons.
12. Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all the members of Ziba's household were servants of Mephibosheth.
13. And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king's table, and he was crippled in both feet.

-- how do you measure the worth of something? -- the other night, we were channel surfing and caught the end of the Antique Roadshow on PBS -- I have always enjoyed that show -- seeing all of the antiques and the things that people have passed down from one generation to another over time and to learn what they were used for and why they were made
-- but that's not why people tune in to the show -- people tune in because they want to see how much those antiques are really worth -- if you've seen the show, they always show this person whose great-grandfather picked up this piece of junk in a flea market about a hundred years ago and paid $1 for it -- the expert looks at it and talks about where it was made and why it was made and then they ask the question, "Do you know how much it's worth?"
-- and the person always responds back, "No, I really don't know" -- and a lot of times, the expert will say something like, "In an auction today, this item would bring between $15,000 and $20,000" -- and the owner sits there dumb-founded
-- it is likely that this piece of junk that has been handed down from generation to generation in their family has just been sitting on a shelf somewhere -- collecting dust -- not being protected -- not being thought of because they didn't think it was worth much -- they might have even let their kids and grandkids play with it -- but now, things have changed
-- the object itself hasn't changed -- it is exactly the same object that the owner brought with him to the show -- but the value of the object to the owner has changed, because they now know just how much the item is worth -- and I guarantee you that as soon as they get home, this item is not just going to be put on a shelf -- it is going to be displayed in a protected place -- it is going to be kept safe -- they're probably going to get insurance on it -- all because they now know the true value of this heirloom

II. The Value of a Person
-- how do you measure the worth of something? -- how do you measure the worth of a person? -- Publius Sirius, a famous Roman writer who lived a century before Christ said, "A thing is worth what someone will pay for it" -- Publius knew what he was talking about -- Publius had been a slave -- there had been a value placed on his life -- society had determined what he was worth
-- at one point, Publius was brought from Antioch to Rome, where he was purchased by a wealthy philanthropist and set free -- more than likely, his wealthy benefactor paid more for Publius when he purchased him to set him free than Publius was originally worth -- did that mean that he was more valuable than before? -- that he was of greater worth than before?1

-- let me ask you this, how much are you worth? -- how do you determine your value in life? -- how do you determine the value of another person?
-- whether we admit it or not, we all assign value to others based on how we perceive their worth to us -- maybe we value them based on their worldly success -- maybe it is because of their wealth or their financial resources -- maybe it is because of their importance or status or class -- maybe it is because of their skills or talents
-- let me give you an example
-- I imagine most of you have heard the name of A-Rod -- Alex Rodriguez -- the third baseman for the New York Yankees -- his contract says that he must be the highest paid player in professional baseball -- if someone gets a new contract this year and makes more than him, then A-Rod gets a raise
-- this year, A-Rod's salary is $28 million -- that is more than the salaries of all 33 players on the Florida Marlins combined -- he makes almost $170,000 per game -- and every time he steps up to the plate to bat, he gets paid $40,000
-- how much is Alex Rodriguez worth? -- George Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees, says that A-Rod is worth more than an entire baseball team

-- but what about George W. Bush? -- the President of our country -- the leader of the free world -- the man who has been elected and who is paid to make the hard decisions -- decisions that send our young men and women to war -- decisions that affect the economy, not only of our country but the world -- decisions that impact the lives of over 300 million people on a daily basis
-- how much is he worth? -- as president, George W. Bush only makes $400,000 per year -- Alex Rodriguez makes that much in just 3 baseball games -- does that make A-Rod more valuable than President Bush?

-- What about you? -- how valuable are you? -- what is your salary compared to A-Rod or even compared to President Bush -- I can tell you my salary is a lot less than both of them -- what does that say about my worth? -- about my value?
-- this points to the problem that we have in our society when it comes to measuring the true value of a person -- if we don't make as much money as Alex Rodriguez -- if we aren't as important as George W. Bush -- does that mean we are not as valuable as them? -- society would say, "Yes"
-- is it any wonder that most people in our day and age have a poor self-image? -- every day, that message gets reinforced -- you are not valuable -- you are not worthy
-- think about what we're teaching our kids today
-- our kids are taught in school that they are nothing special -- they are just the product of chance -- billions and billions of years ago, lightning struck a pool of water filled with inorganic chemicals -- but the heat of the lightning started a chain reaction and developed the first organic molecules -- from there, the organic molecules combined to form living single-celled creatures -- amoebas and bacterias and other simple forms of life
-- eventually, these all changed and evolved and eventually produced fish and amphibians and reptiles and birds and mammals and us -- we are nothing more than dumb, random luck and the result of random genetic mutations
-- what does this tell our kids? -- you are not anything special -- you are just the product of dumb, random luck and the result of random genetic mutations -- you have no intrinsic, internal value -- you are just an animal developed through evolution
-- what does that do to a person? -- what does that do to a child? -- how does that affect their life?
-- if they're taught in school every day that they have no real value -- that they are merely the product of random chance, then why should our kids believe us when we tell them, "Don't have sex before you're married -- don't take drugs -- don't drink -- don't cut yourself -- don't harm yourself -- you are too valuable to do that"
-- why do you think our kids are laying down with the dogs? -- why do you think they're happy eating dog food from the dog's bowl? -- because they see themselves as worthless -- as valueless
-- the world tells us that we're only as valuable as our salaries
-- that we're only as valuable as what our life insurance would pay when we die
-- that we're only as valuable as what we can do for them
-- and the world tells us that that is not much

III. Mephibosheth -- 2 Samuel 9

-- in this passage from 2 Samuel 9, we read of Mephibosheth -- the son of Jonathan -- the grandson of Saul, the first king of Israel
-- society had conspired to convince Mephibosheth that he was of no value -- that his life was worthless
-- before Mephibosheth was born, the nation of Israel had been at constant war, within and without -- while King Saul was engaged in a battle against the Philistines, he also waged war against David and his men -- because he was jealous of David and jealous of the fact that the people preferred David over him
-- even so, David formed a close relationship with Saul's son, Jonathan -- they were best friends -- they pledged their lives to each other -- they pledged their families to each other
-- eventually, both Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle against the Philistines, and David took the throne of Israel in fulfillment of his anointing by God

-- as 2 Samuel 9 opens, David remembers his promise to his friend Jonathan, and asks if there is anyone left in the line of Saul that he might honor -- that he might show value to
-- look back at verse 1

1. David asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"
2. Now there was a servant of Saul's household named Ziba. They called him to appear before David, and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" "Your servant," he replied.
3. The king asked, "Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show God's kindness?" Ziba answered the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet."
4. "Where is he?" the king asked. Ziba answered, "He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar."
5. So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.


-- now Mephibosheth had been crippled when his family fled the palace after the death of Saul and Jonathan -- they believed that David would come and kill all of them to eliminate the threat to his throne, so as the nurse scooped up 5-year-old Mephibosheth and tried to leave the palace, she dropped him and injured him, making him lame for the rest of his life
-- Mephibosheth grew up thinking he was worthless -- not only was he lame and unable to fight or to be a warrior -- not only was he unable to toil the land for himself -- he believed he would be killed by David if David ever found him -- so he sought protection in the home of Makir in Lo Debar -- a region way across the Jordan River -- in the wilderness far, far away from Jerusalem, where he would be safe
-- but now, David has found him and called for him -- you can just imagine what was going through Mephibosheth's mind as he received the summons from David
-- verse 6

6. When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, "Mephibosheth!" "Your servant," he replied.


-- when he came before David, Mephibosheth bowed down before him -- the KJV says that he prostrated himself before David -- he fell on his face before him -- he felt that he was not worthy to stand in the presence of the king, although he, himself, was a prince of Israel
-- verse 7

7. "Don't be afraid," David said to him, "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table."
8. Mephibosheth bowed down and said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?"


-- for years, Mephibosheth had thought of himself as a dog -- as a dead dog -- worthy only to eat food from the dog's bowl -- he had no value -- he had no life -- he was worthless
-- but now David has sought out Mephibosheth -- he restores the estates of Saul and gives them to Mephibosheth to be his source of income -- and he elevates him to the greatest honor -- he tells him, "From now on, you will sit at my table -- you will eat with me -- you will be as a son to me -- you are worthy"

IV. Closing
-- in one moment, Mephibosheth has gone from eating dog food to eating at the king's table -- what made the difference? -- he had not changed -- he was still the same person he was when he lived with Makir in Lo Debar -- he still was crippled -- he still could not take up a trade -- he still could not wield a sword or lead a team of oxen in the field -- in the eyes of the world he was still worthless
-- but in the eyes of the king, he was more -- Mephibosheth was worthy, not because he had any value in the eyes of the world -- but simply because he was seen in light of the relationship between David and Jonathan -- he was worthy because he was Jonathan's son -- he was worthy because of the price of friendship that had been paid between David and Jonathan

-- every day, the world tells us that we have no value -- it tells us that we are the product of random chance -- that our worth is based only on our salary -- on our skills -- on our talents and our importance -- on what we can provide to them
-- if our salary is not high enough -- if we're not important enough -- if we aren't skilled or talented in some way -- society tells us that we are worthless -- that we are like Mephibosheth -- that we are fit only to eat dog food -- and so we eat
-- oh, we might take comfort from time to time in comparing ourselves with others -- we can always find someone who is worse off than us -- no matter what I make, if I have a job, if I have a home, then I have to be better than a homeless person on the street, right? -- I have to have more value than them
-- but people who base their personal value on such transient measures will ultimately be disappointed2 -- because the world will continue to reinforce that we are not truly valuable -- that we are -- ultimately -- worthless
-- but in the eyes of the King, we are more

-- as I said earlier, "A thing is worth what someone will pay for it" -- and a great, great price was paid for us
-- let me close by reading 1 Peter 1, verses 18-19 to you [read 1 Peter 1:18-19]
-- how valuable are we? -- we are more valuable than gold or silver -- than all the riches of the world -- because God Himself paid for us with His own body and His own blood
-- God looked down at us eating from the dog food bowl of sin -- He looked down at us giving ourselves to this world -- selling our bodies and our souls and our spirits for nothing -- all because the world told us that we were worthless -- and God said, "Enough"
-- He went to the cross on our behalf -- He paid the price with His body and blood to set us free from sin and from death -- He exchanged His righteousness and His perfection and His sinfulness for our unrighteousness and our imperfection and our sin
-- He made us worthy -- and He is calling us to His table
-- stop eating from the dog bowl this world has placed before you -- stop believing the lies that you are not worthy -- that you have no value -- and eat from the King's table
-- Jesus tells us that a place has been made for us here -- we have been given the right to become the children of God -- the sons and daughters of the King -- and we should be eating with the King, not with the dogs

-- as we close our worship today, let us share in the table of the King -- let us take within us the body and blood of Jesus -- as we receive His grace -- as we enjoy His mercy -- as we let Him tell us just how valuable we truly are to Him
-- let's pray

1William Pollard, "Serving Two Masters"
2Carrie Gordon Earl, Focus on the Family