The word free, in our society, is, for the most part, a “come on”, an enticement, to get you to take action that gives someone your name, phone number, address, or email address so they have an opportunity to sell or involve you in something that will benefit them or their cause.  It is the most used, overused, and effective word in marketing.  This little four letter word grabs the eyes and the mind quickly – it gets our undivided attention.

I went to my first source of reference, The Blue Letter Bible, did a search and was surprised that there were 57 verses that mentioned “free”.  Then I went to my second source of reference, Dictionary.com, and was again surprised to find 49 levels of its meaning or ways it is used.  The really interesting thing, to me, is 101 out of the 106 instances referred to freedom from something (other than cost) and only 5 referred to being “free of cost”.   Two of them were in Romans 5:16 and 17. So, the question that comes to my mind is “why is this little four letter word ‘free’ so magnetic”.  What is our infatuation in getting something for nothing all about? 

In the 25 years I spent in financial planning I learned something.  This something is the basis of this writing – generally when there is no investment, there is no value.   I’ve said this to many clients and when they thought about it they agreed.  However, there are many shades of meaning in the word investment.  Most immediately think of monetary investment and most of the time this is what I meant.  (Usually it was at a time when a client was worrying about a college education or what they should put in their will or trust in regard to their children.)

I have noticed that I am more eager to give something away or loan someone an item that wasn’t expensive.  If I loaned something of value it was only to someone whom I had learned to trust highly.  I have thought, when something broke, “oh well, it was free or it was inexpensive”?  As I look around my computer area I see several ballpoint pens.  They all have advertisements on them.  I don’t expect them to last.   When one breaks, I toss it in the trash without a thought.  When one runs out of ink, I don’t buy a refill.  It’s not worth the investment.

On the other hand, I am very picky about pens that I use for my writings in my journal.  I will spend considerable time to find a quality pen and I buy several refills to ensure I will be able to use it for a long time.  I know it is not the pen or the ink that produce the words.  I know it is just an instrument, but the words are so important to me that I demand the pen, ink, and the journal be of quality.   I gave one of these special pens away to a friend recently who was going through a tough time.  I think writing is the strongest therapy there is and I was encouraging him to start a journal.  It was hard to give away that pen.  Because of my investment of time and money, plus my attitude toward it, it was very valuable to me.  Even now I catch myself wondering if he is taking care of it and using it the way I hoped he would, but then I realize he invested nothing in it and so there is a good chance it is just another pen to him.  I have to remind myself that I “gave” it to him and that he didn’t ask for it.  There was the risk of  “no investment – no value”. 

Is that a fair statement?  Maybe yes, maybe no.  Maybe he was taught to value whatever he is given and that everything has value.  Maybe he was taught the importance of stewardship and taking care of his possessions.  Maybe his regard for me will give the pen some value.  Maybe he will understand the love, care, and concern that prompted me to give it to him and he will give it some value. 

(As usual, what I plan to write and what I end up writing are quite different.  I love Proverbs 16:9 and 19:21.  This may seem like a strange statement to make, but they give both God and me freedom.  Give God freedom?  Yep!  The way I read Proverbs 16:9 is that when I plan, He directs.  Without my planning, there is no direction.  So when I exercise the freedom He has given me to plan, I give Him the freedom to direct my steps.  It’s a relationship.  It works for me.)

The conclusion this thought process has led me to is this.  I see the risk that God takes when He gives me the “free” gift of salvation.  Will I exercise “no investment – no value”?  He gives me the freedom to make that choice.  What is it that gives this gift value to me?  I have never given this any thought before, but the answer is crystal clear to me.  It is the relationship that He and I have developed over the 37 years we have been friends.  Let me correct that – He and I have not always been friends, but we are now. 

There is a verse that scared me when I first read it many years ago.  Later, it became a verse that intrigued me.  Now, it is a verse that guides me.  “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Phl 2:12   I now know this verse means to work out my relationship with Jesus.  I have come to understand that the tremendous value He placed on me motivated Him to pay the extreme price He paid for my salvation.  Can I somehow earn this gift with the investment of my good works?   No, not according to Ephesians 2:8 and 9.  So what makes this free gift so valuable to me?   The relationship I have with the one who gave me the gift.

Is the statement “No investment – no value” a valid one?  Yes, I think so, and I have learned the key.   If one of my grandchildren gives me a cheap ballpoint pen for a Christmas gift with a big smile on their face, I will never throw it away - if I were to live a million years.  The relationship is what makes that particular pen invaluable, not the value of the pen itself.