Switching price tags and padding the expense account are two things God hates.

(Proverbs 20:10 MSG)

The irresistibly insightful Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once wrote a story about two thieves who did something that thieves don't ordinarily do. They went into a jewelry store and instead of stealing anything, they decided to deploy an another, equally destructive strategy. They decided to remove the price tags from several pieces of costume jewelry and place them on several pieces of expensive jewelry. Then, they removed the price tags from several pieces of expensive jewelry, and placed them on the costume jewelry. Succinctly put, they switched the tags.

Having completed their scheme, they left, and awaited the results of their nefarious experiment. For several months, no one noticed that the tags had been switched—neither the owner of the store nor any of the customers who had purchased the items. The owner of the store never realized that the tags had been switched because sales remained constant. However, some of the customers who purchased costume jewelry eventually reviewed their expenditures and began to wonder why the items had been so expensive, and some of the customers who had purchased what they thought was expensive jewelry noticed that their items were cheap. At once they brought this fact to the owner’s attention. However, nothing could be done. It was too late. They had been duped.

Professor Kierkegaard conceived that parable to suggest there were far too many people in his generation who could not tell the difference between something expensive and something cheap; that there were far too many people in his generation who could not discern between that which was valuable and that which was worthless; that there were far too many people in his generation who paid far too much for far too little and didn’t realize they overpaid until it was far too late.

I believe that Professor Kierkegaard’s parable is applicable not only to his generation, but also to ours as well— and perhaps to every generation that has ever or will ever live. The battle to make proper valuations is an ancient one, and our chief adversary in this battle is an ancient foe. In John 10:10, Jesus tells us that the enemy of our souls is a thief, and that his primary objective is to kill, steal and destroy. And one of his most destructive tactics is to switch the tags. As a result, far too many people pay far too much for far too little and don’t realize that they have overpaid until it’s far too late. Our enemy switches the price tags on 3 critical areas: on our relationships, on our definition of success, and on our spiritual pursuits.

The price tags have been switched on our relationships. In my childhood years, we used to sing a popular jingle. The jingle was some version of the following:

Tommy and Mary sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes a baby in a baby carriage.

But the enemy has switched the tags. Marriage rates are at an all time low, and many people question its value, purpose and significance. A modern version of this jingle would probably go something like this:

Tommy and Mary sitting in a tree, trading naked pictures on IG. First come the baby, forget about a carriage. And come on playa—ain't nobody thinking about marriage!

The price tags have been switched.

The price tags have also been switched on our definition of success. I recently heard someone say that the world teaches us to work as hard as we can, for as much money as we can, so we can retire as early as we can, so we can enjoy a life of leisure for as long as we can. Like Esau, we trade our birthright for some bread and soup. We value satisfying our appetites more than we do fulfilling our destiny. We value achievement more than we value character. We think how much money we make is more significant than who we are. We substitute consumption for contribution, and define our significance by the length of our resume. We define ourselves by how many followers we have, and we foolishly allow people that we don’t know and that we may never meet to influence us. The price tags have been switched.

The price tags have been also been switched on spirituality. We have allowed the enemy to convince us that to be to be a person of faith, a person of morals, and a person of integrity makes us weak, ignorant, or undignified. One of the hardest things about being a Christian is the reaction that often greets the public expression of our faith. Isn't it peculiar that people are more comfortable when they find out what type of liquor you drink than they are when they find out what church you go to? If you tell somebody you go to church, if you allow somebody to see you reading your Bible, if you mess up and accidentally pray over your meal, if you lift your hands in praise and thanksgiving to God, most people will act as if something is wrong with you. But perhaps something is wrong with them.

Scriptures reminds us that God hates when the price tags are switched. God hates when the price tags are switched because switching the price tags obscures the truth about what’s truly valuable. And without truth, we cannot make proper decisions, achieve true success, or experience lasting joy.

Here are two questions to consider:

1. Are you paying too much for too little?

2. Are you certain that what you are reaching for is life is worth the price you are paying?

Perhaps you should pay closer attention to the price of the items on which you are spending your time, energy and attention. It would be a tragedy to pay far too much for far too little and not realize that you’ve overpaid until it’s far too late.