Why do we value what we value?

They say a product has no more intrinsic value than what a customer is willing to pay for it. This explains why some paid thousands for Beanie Babies you couldn’t pay me to own. To car enthusiasts, the rusty and rotted 1967 Shelby Mustang GT 500 is worth an arm and a leg. To those who aren’t, it’s just an eyesore. So, determining how valuable an experience is is highly subjective. This was blatantly obvious today. We visited some of the most revered sites for all three major monotheistic religions. Yet, each faith and each person values them differently. At the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, I saw people weep as they kissed a stone slab. This, apparently, was the slab on which they prepared Jesus’ body for burial. Why wasn’t I compelled to do the same? Why did I feel this most holy site was more about tourism and institutionalized religion and power-jockeying between religions than on Jesus? On the Mount of Olives, the very place Jesus will land when he returns, I noticed someone was more interested in a camel chewing. How do they not care we’re standing where Jesus delivered his Olivet Discourse? So I found myself wondering why I value some sites more than others. I realized if the site drew me into Jesus’ experience and put me in his mind, it had value and we couldn’t spend enough time there. On the other hand, if the site drew my attention to something else, it lost value. This, of course, is my perception alone and not anyone else’s. However, the principle remains. Why do we value what we value? In worship? In sermons? In programs?

Tomorrow is another full day. We’ll float in the Dead Sea. Some will get baptized in the Jordan River. Masada and Erin Gedi will round the day out. So far, the weather is perfect, the food is great, the hospitality is over the top. And we’re glad you get to be apart of this trip with us.