Selling at a discount
Why are discounts so attractive to us? Whenever we walk into a store or visit a retail website, we first gravitate to the sale items, the clearance rack, the discount bin. Price an item at $9.99, and for some reason it looks a lot less that $10. Some places don’t even try to hide it – if you walk into a car dealer, you know the price they paste on the windshield is too high. They know that you probably recognize its inflation. They want you to bargain for it. It’s all part of the game. Some companies actually lower their price for a few days to get you to buy right then, hoping that you’ll come back some day and pay full price. But there’s a problem with the discount: consumers are smart. They wait for the price reduction. They won’t pay full sticker, because they don’t think the item is worth that much. Companies frequently find themselves in a no-‐win sales cycle, never able to get the full price for their products, because no one believes they are actually that valuable.
We do the same thing when it comes to our own gifts and abilities. We discount our own value. We tell everyone that our success and accomplishments aren’t that great. When people compliment our achievements or notice our unique beauty, we quickly brush it off as if to say, it wasn’t special. What we are really saying to others is: I’m not that special. We incorrectly assume that everyone was born with the same gifts and talents; they can do what we can do, but probably better. We tell ourselves that we only succeed when we get lucky. We compare ourselves to others and see their gifts and achievements, wish we could be more like them. So we price ourselves at a discount by devaluing our own gifts. That’s the game we play. We tell ourselves that we are simply being humble. But that’s not humility. True humility, the type that Christ taught, is a clear self-‐awareness of our value and worth. It’s a conscious effort not to trumpet our gifts to make others feel less than us. Do you see the difference? Humility isn’t about lessening ourselves, it’s about building others up.
True humility says: follow my example, help others. How can we be an example if we keep discounting ourselves? When we continually tell others that we aren’t special, what we’re actually doing is placing a priceless diamond in the discount bin. Because, you see, you are unique. You are special. Like a diamond, you are one of a kind. God made you that way: beautiful inside and out, with unique gifts. Don’t put yourself in the discount bin. Don’t sell yourself short. You are amazing. Start coming to terms with that. When people compliment you, simply say thank you. True joy is found when we discover our gifts and use them to make others, the world, better. Yes, that’s what you can do. God built you that way – you’re worth more than you can possibly fathom. He paid the full price for you through his son Jesus. Don’t sell yourself at a discount.
Have a great day. I’m so proud of you! Love dad
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