The Value of a Building

I don’t watch the news, but when I do, it’s because I’ve lost the remote. Until recently, I was an avid news reader and watcher. I’ve always enjoyed having conversations about current events with my friends and coworkers. There always seemed to be a really interesting tidbit on the news that could serve as a conversation starter. However, my recent move to a new city changed my news-consuming habits. I noticed that watching the evening news negatively affected my mood. So I decided to take a little break.

A few days ago, I thought it was the right time to start my habit again and tuned into the evening news. The very first story intrigued me. It was a story of a historic building being demolished to make way for the construction of a new hospital. The outside of the building was beautiful and ornate. Many people in the surrounding neighborhood came to watch it being torn down. They mourned that something so beautiful was being destroyed. But the problem wasn’t the outside; it was the inside.

Broken on the Inside

Years of neglect had left the beautiful building uninhabitable. Despite its beauty, it was so broken on the inside that no remodeling would have been good or safe enough to save it. Had someone taken the time to take care of it (to fix small leaks before they got big or replace broken walls), the beautiful building could have been saved.

It got me thinking about the things in my life that I place value on. Am I taking care of or neglecting the things and people that are important to me? Do I value my loved ones, my body, and my work enough to care for them? Do I fix small problems before they become big ones? Or am I neglecting the important ones to the point where they will eventually become irreparable?

I pray that how I treat the people and things around me is a true reflection of the value I place in them.

“Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:14-16, ESV).

If you liked this, you might also enjoy The Right Direction | How Much Do We Value Others 

Jael Amador writes from New York.

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