It saddens me to pass through neighborhoods that once were the icon of prosperity but now bear the image of neglect and decay. I am especially saddened by notices on some of the doors that pronounce the judgment "CONDEMNED,” warning those who are considering entrance to the house that it is not structurally safe and announcing to those who may dream of restoring the once majestic feat of architecture that it is beyond hope of repair and is awaiting total destruction.
I wonder sometimes if such notices of condemnation are informed by an assessment of impossible repair or by a poor appraisal value, meaning the house would cost more to repair than it is worth. The appraisal value is generally based on the potential of profitable return from the investment. If the cost of restoring a house is greater than the market worth of the house (the list price based on what the average buyer would be willing to pay for it), then the house would generally be considered not “worth” restoring. However, if the value of a house were to be based on the value of heritage (like a family heirloom or one that has community or historical significance), the market value and the cost of restoration would then be irrelevant. The only contingencies for heritage value are the availability of funding and the structural possibility a house can be saved. While some houses are rightfully condemned, I am most saddened by the ones that could be saved but lack a proprietor who values them enough to invest in them. Wasted potential is such a tragedy.
The word “CONDEMNED” also comes to mind as I reflect on the movie “The Blind Side.” The story is about a young man who grew up in the ghetto but was able to advance beyond his circumstances because a woman and her family noticed him as they passed him walking on the side of the road, had compassion for him by stopping to ask him about his needs, and were willing to invest in him by inviting him to live with them. After arriving at their home, the mother (Leigh Anne Tuohy), while making a bed for the young man (Michael Oher), was told by Michael this was his first time. She asked, “The first time you have had your own room?” To her horror, Michael responded, “No. The first time I’ve had a bed.” I’m sure she wondered how such a wonderful young man could experience such neglect. Moved by the reality of Michael's humble depravity and the abundance of belessings she had to share, Leigh Anne was compelled to provide all Michael had so desperately needed but lacked the provision to acquire.
Sometime later, while having lunch with her friends, Leigh Anne was criticized for making such a risky and potentially costly investment by taking Michael into her home. Leigh Anne was hurt but not swayed in her commitment to invest in him given her ability to see Michael’s worth as a human being, a worth based on heritage rather than market return. She quickly grew to love him as her own, leading her to increase her investment by adopting him as her son.
As it turns out, Michael did have market value that later came to Leigh Anne’s attention, a value Leigh Anne wisely cultivated by not only investing in Michael as a person by loving and adopting him, but by also investing in Michael’s skills. She served as an advocate for him by fighting for his acceptance on the high school football team so he could practice and grow in his skills as a lineman. The school was unwilling to accept him at first since they had not seen him perform and prejudicially appraised him to be a charity case that had nothing of marketable value to offer. They changed their mind about his potential once they saw him perform under the loving guidance and encouragement of Leigh Anne.
When the obstacle of his academic challenge was presented, Leigh Anne helped him overcome the obstacle by hiring a private tutor to supplement the deficit to the instruction Michael needed in the classroom. As his skills grew, Leigh Anne worked to market his potential to colleges in order to provide the possibility of Michael receiving a college education and the opportunity to grow his skills as an athlete, skills that had potential for qualifying Michael as a candidate for a career in professional football. As it turns out, Michael was a diamond in the rough, a treasure found in the unlikeliest of places that proved to be priceless in value when his potential was realized in the NFL.
Since Michael turned out to have such incalculable market value, most admire Leigh Anne more for the return on her investment than the reason she invested in Michael to begin with. Her motives were even scrutinized by a college football ethics committee who believed she may have planned from the beginning to groom Michael as an asset to be applied to her university alma mater, the university team Michael chose to join. Michael was devastated by the possibility Leigh Anne’s love and acceptance was not genuine, that it may have had ulterior motives.
Michael ran from her and returned to the ghetto to visit his old home, his mother who had abandoned him, and friends who wanted to use him for their profit. After some reflection on his transition from who he was to who he had become and some reassurance by Leigh Anne, Michael was able to decisively accept the truth that Leigh Anne loved him not because of his market value, but because of his heritage as a child of God, as a person. It was because she recognized his heritage value that she adopted him, in a sense bought him for her own, then invested in him as her treasure. To her, market value had always been irrelevant and return on her investment was not even a consideration in terms of monetary worth. He had always been priceless.
It saddens me “The Blind Side” was made into a movie predominantly because of the market value of its story. Movie audiences highly value stories such as Michael’s. Michael was a young man without options, trapped by his circumstances and the broken systems that had posted the notice “CONDEMNED” on Michael’s community and all the people who lived there. He was without hope and without value. Despite the warnings and in defiance of economic reasoning, Michael was bought and renovated by a proprietor who had no intention of selling him for a profit. Nevertheless, in complete contradiction to the odds, Michael rose in value from a state deemed worthy for destruction to an appraisal value reserved for the most elite and highest valued in the American market.
Michael’s story inspires hope that the impossible may not be so impossible after all, that maybe there is hope for others like him in the viewing audience. Such movies are good at inspiring dreams so they market well. What saddens me is the movie fails to emphasize the most valuable treasure displayed in Michael’s testimony, a treasure that would not lose its value even if Michael had been best equipped for a career as a dishwasher in the local restaurant. The treasure is the gospel of Jesus Christ, a treasure available to everyone, a treasure everyone needs since everyone is CONDEMNED without it.
Leigh Anne was a Christian who was inspired by the investment made in her by her proprietary God through her Savior, Jesus Christ, to make that same gracious investment in another hopeless possibility, in Michael. Those like Leigh Anne who are bought by God are not only renovated, they are remade into the same image for the same function as Jesus himself, the function Leigh Anne performed beautifully.
God does not evaluate worth based on the world market. Every person was made by him, giving every person a priceless appraisal of heritage value worthy of redemption no matter how badly damaged they may be. Every child that has been adopted by God is equipped to invest in others the same way Leigh Anne invested in Michael. Funding is not an issue since God’s resources are unlimited. God also will not allow his children to be sold on the world market, making their appraisal value irrelevant. As investors, his children are forbidden from appraising the market value of any potential investment to include any market assessment of condemnation. God’s children are commanded to invest freely and fully in anyone willing to submit to being remade and to continue to extend the offer to all those who refuse, hoping they accept before they are destroyed. Though all may not turn out to be pro football players, all investments are built by God with excellence through the Holy Spirit, sharing the same excellent model character as the most respectable among people, Jesus Christ.
According to the gospel, Michael’s story is an example of the rule, not an exception to it. May we all learn to be wise investors like Leigh Anne as we perform the purpose for which God made us in Christ, the purpose of making the impossible possible, the purpose of rebuilding the CONDEMNED for his glory. As the work of the gospel continues to succeed in rebuilding entire communities, the world market will soon be flooded with new value, calling for new standards of appraisal, standards gospel investors already know and apply well. I invite you to get in on the ground floor by investing all you have while there is still time. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity so don’t miss it!
I wonder sometimes if such notices of condemnation are informed by an assessment of impossible repair or by a poor appraisal value, meaning the house would cost more to repair than it is worth. The appraisal value is generally based on the potential of profitable return from the investment. If the cost of restoring a house is greater than the market worth of the house (the list price based on what the average buyer would be willing to pay for it), then the house would generally be considered not “worth” restoring. However, if the value of a house were to be based on the value of heritage (like a family heirloom or one that has community or historical significance), the market value and the cost of restoration would then be irrelevant. The only contingencies for heritage value are the availability of funding and the structural possibility a house can be saved. While some houses are rightfully condemned, I am most saddened by the ones that could be saved but lack a proprietor who values them enough to invest in them. Wasted potential is such a tragedy.
The word “CONDEMNED” also comes to mind as I reflect on the movie “The Blind Side.” The story is about a young man who grew up in the ghetto but was able to advance beyond his circumstances because a woman and her family noticed him as they passed him walking on the side of the road, had compassion for him by stopping to ask him about his needs, and were willing to invest in him by inviting him to live with them. After arriving at their home, the mother (Leigh Anne Tuohy), while making a bed for the young man (Michael Oher), was told by Michael this was his first time. She asked, “The first time you have had your own room?” To her horror, Michael responded, “No. The first time I’ve had a bed.” I’m sure she wondered how such a wonderful young man could experience such neglect. Moved by the reality of Michael's humble depravity and the abundance of belessings she had to share, Leigh Anne was compelled to provide all Michael had so desperately needed but lacked the provision to acquire.
Sometime later, while having lunch with her friends, Leigh Anne was criticized for making such a risky and potentially costly investment by taking Michael into her home. Leigh Anne was hurt but not swayed in her commitment to invest in him given her ability to see Michael’s worth as a human being, a worth based on heritage rather than market return. She quickly grew to love him as her own, leading her to increase her investment by adopting him as her son.
As it turns out, Michael did have market value that later came to Leigh Anne’s attention, a value Leigh Anne wisely cultivated by not only investing in Michael as a person by loving and adopting him, but by also investing in Michael’s skills. She served as an advocate for him by fighting for his acceptance on the high school football team so he could practice and grow in his skills as a lineman. The school was unwilling to accept him at first since they had not seen him perform and prejudicially appraised him to be a charity case that had nothing of marketable value to offer. They changed their mind about his potential once they saw him perform under the loving guidance and encouragement of Leigh Anne.
When the obstacle of his academic challenge was presented, Leigh Anne helped him overcome the obstacle by hiring a private tutor to supplement the deficit to the instruction Michael needed in the classroom. As his skills grew, Leigh Anne worked to market his potential to colleges in order to provide the possibility of Michael receiving a college education and the opportunity to grow his skills as an athlete, skills that had potential for qualifying Michael as a candidate for a career in professional football. As it turns out, Michael was a diamond in the rough, a treasure found in the unlikeliest of places that proved to be priceless in value when his potential was realized in the NFL.
Since Michael turned out to have such incalculable market value, most admire Leigh Anne more for the return on her investment than the reason she invested in Michael to begin with. Her motives were even scrutinized by a college football ethics committee who believed she may have planned from the beginning to groom Michael as an asset to be applied to her university alma mater, the university team Michael chose to join. Michael was devastated by the possibility Leigh Anne’s love and acceptance was not genuine, that it may have had ulterior motives.
Michael ran from her and returned to the ghetto to visit his old home, his mother who had abandoned him, and friends who wanted to use him for their profit. After some reflection on his transition from who he was to who he had become and some reassurance by Leigh Anne, Michael was able to decisively accept the truth that Leigh Anne loved him not because of his market value, but because of his heritage as a child of God, as a person. It was because she recognized his heritage value that she adopted him, in a sense bought him for her own, then invested in him as her treasure. To her, market value had always been irrelevant and return on her investment was not even a consideration in terms of monetary worth. He had always been priceless.
It saddens me “The Blind Side” was made into a movie predominantly because of the market value of its story. Movie audiences highly value stories such as Michael’s. Michael was a young man without options, trapped by his circumstances and the broken systems that had posted the notice “CONDEMNED” on Michael’s community and all the people who lived there. He was without hope and without value. Despite the warnings and in defiance of economic reasoning, Michael was bought and renovated by a proprietor who had no intention of selling him for a profit. Nevertheless, in complete contradiction to the odds, Michael rose in value from a state deemed worthy for destruction to an appraisal value reserved for the most elite and highest valued in the American market.
Michael’s story inspires hope that the impossible may not be so impossible after all, that maybe there is hope for others like him in the viewing audience. Such movies are good at inspiring dreams so they market well. What saddens me is the movie fails to emphasize the most valuable treasure displayed in Michael’s testimony, a treasure that would not lose its value even if Michael had been best equipped for a career as a dishwasher in the local restaurant. The treasure is the gospel of Jesus Christ, a treasure available to everyone, a treasure everyone needs since everyone is CONDEMNED without it.
Leigh Anne was a Christian who was inspired by the investment made in her by her proprietary God through her Savior, Jesus Christ, to make that same gracious investment in another hopeless possibility, in Michael. Those like Leigh Anne who are bought by God are not only renovated, they are remade into the same image for the same function as Jesus himself, the function Leigh Anne performed beautifully.
God does not evaluate worth based on the world market. Every person was made by him, giving every person a priceless appraisal of heritage value worthy of redemption no matter how badly damaged they may be. Every child that has been adopted by God is equipped to invest in others the same way Leigh Anne invested in Michael. Funding is not an issue since God’s resources are unlimited. God also will not allow his children to be sold on the world market, making their appraisal value irrelevant. As investors, his children are forbidden from appraising the market value of any potential investment to include any market assessment of condemnation. God’s children are commanded to invest freely and fully in anyone willing to submit to being remade and to continue to extend the offer to all those who refuse, hoping they accept before they are destroyed. Though all may not turn out to be pro football players, all investments are built by God with excellence through the Holy Spirit, sharing the same excellent model character as the most respectable among people, Jesus Christ.
According to the gospel, Michael’s story is an example of the rule, not an exception to it. May we all learn to be wise investors like Leigh Anne as we perform the purpose for which God made us in Christ, the purpose of making the impossible possible, the purpose of rebuilding the CONDEMNED for his glory. As the work of the gospel continues to succeed in rebuilding entire communities, the world market will soon be flooded with new value, calling for new standards of appraisal, standards gospel investors already know and apply well. I invite you to get in on the ground floor by investing all you have while there is still time. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity so don’t miss it!
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