Luke 15:1 The tax-collectors and sinners kept gathering around to hear Yeshua, 2 and the P’rushim and Torah-teachers kept grumbling. “This fellow,” they said, “welcomes sinners — he even eats with them!” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “If one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, doesn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? 5 When he does find it, he joyfully hoists it onto his shoulders; 6 and when he gets home, he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Come, celebrate with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ 7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who turns to God from his sins than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.
8 “Another example: what woman, if she has ten drachmas and loses one of these valuable coins, won’t light a lamp, sweep the house and search all over until she finds it? 9 And when she does find it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Come, celebrate with me, because I have found the drachma I lost.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy among God’s angels when one sinner repents.”
We’ve already considered the 99 sheep but we want to pick up here in verse 8. This seems to be some kind of an extension on the 1 and 99 principle but would only be given this if there were additional truths to be gleaned.
So let’s get hunting.
Before, we had the ratio of 1:100 but here it is 1:10. Is that important? Maybe, maybe not. I mean, you would assume that something with life has more value than a coin, right? But here we get the opposite. Why is that?
Simple: People view inanimate objects (that can be converted to wealth) as more valuable than those things Abba Himself created -- which is actual wealth, by the way. The trouble here is that we rarely convert money into wealth. We tend to convert money into lifestyle.
Assume you are the missing sheep.
The Shepherd, Yeshua, sees your value in its true form -- valuable enough to leave many behind in order to come find you. But humans see your value as quite less. In fact, you need to be worth 10% not 1% in order for them to hunt for you.
Even though you have eternal value in the eyes of God, your boss sees you through your earthly (monetary) value. According to most people in the earth, it’s always based on how you can be converted into some other value system that is disconnected from the Kingdom.
Most of the time, your value according to your boss and/or organization is directly related to your salary. You are an inanimate object in their eyes. And this isn’t necessarily wrong. It’s just how it is. It’s how the marketplace works. No need to be offended, just be careful being in love with that system. It will only serve you as long as you have value in its eyes. And eventually, you fade away. Don’t believe me? Quit your job and see how long it takes for them to find a replacement.
But it’s the intangibles that really define your true value, right? Honesty, integrity, loyalty, commitment, faith, Biblical obedience, etc.
The intangibles are rarely recognized (or even appreciated) in the marketplace -- until they are gone. It’s only when you are missing that people realize your value is so much more than they assumed. You are missed by your former co-workers and maybe even your boss, but even then, time will fade the affinity they have for you.
In order to relay the point, and assuming the sheep analogy would be lost on a lot of people, Yeshua introduced another model based on what people actually value so everyone could understand.
A sheep goes missing? Big deal. I’m not a farmer.
I lost $5000, now you have my attention.
People are so much more valuable than money. Even animals are more valuable than money. But that’s hard for us to realize, right?
Think back to the two parables. Which one made the most sense to you? If you’re like me, the money missing made better sense. In my mind, one sheep out of a hundred seems like small potatoes in comparison to 10% of your income.
Is it, though?
Money has a weird grip on our lives, doesn’t it? Afterall, this is why we labor so much. We always need more money. Money is tight and we don’t have a lot of breathing room as it is.
We don’t work for more sheep. Even though we could get a perpetual source of clothing and milk, we would view having a sheep as a liability.
Besides, most of us wouldn't even know what to do if we had a sheep anyway.
“I can’t be bothered with all that upkeep. I don’t have the land or the know-how to keep that thing alive. Just give me the cash and let me blow it on my lifestyle.”
Money matters to us. It matters a lot. This slight change on the principle described with the one missing sheep finally makes sense to us. People really do matter. I really do matter!
We saw how we are viewed by the world but let’s flip it around now.
How do you view your money versus people?
Not sure?
If someone gets in the way of your income, how do you respond?
If a new policy comes down that reduces your income by half, what would you do? How quickly would you be in someone’s office screaming and yelling? And when that proved fruitless, how fast would you be on the hunt for a new job?
I don’t think we actually need to answer that, do we?
The point is that we humans operate on a different value model than Abba. And this parable is a nod to that reality.
What will it take for you to adjust your perspective?
Maybe taking the other 9 coins and buying some sheep?