What might a gardener busy herself with on a warm December day? Why, collecting seeds, of course! A friend of mine is interested in growing a Dutchman’s Pipe Vine at her new home, and I really only collected enough to bring to our big local Seed Swap in January. A friend who has a daylily farm stopped by yesterday and also wanted some seeds of the lovely Aristolochia. She felt bad about not having anything to swap with, but she has shared countless flowers over the years.
Many of my most treasured plants have come from such trades, as my budget has been very slim. I attend at least one major plant swap every year, and have come away with an incredible bounty of horticultural gems. But not all swappers seem to value plants the same, and maybe don’t accurately describe their wares online for the swap arrangements. I’ve traded a full-grown rooted thornless blackberry plant for a one-inch seedling which subsequently died.
We swap all the time, whether we realize it or not. Time is money, and we aren’t always careful stewards of it. As for money, its sole purpose is as a currency with which to “trade.” Even those of us who consider ourselves bargain hunters have found ourselves on the bad end of somebody else’s bargain, like when I parted with my blackberry plant.
Samson was one clear example of somebody who should have experienced “buyer’s remorse” a couple of times. The jokes abound about how we swap our freedom for a spouse, but there is a lot of truth in it, especially in the case of women. Even our work for God is affected.
“But one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:33-34, NASB).
Clearly, Samson was not considering how best to serve God when he chose a bride among the Philistines. His parents protested. His answer – “Get her for me, for she looks good to me” (Judges 14:3, NASB 1995).
Oh, the times when something “looks good to me” but it wasn’t a good trade! I recently bought some tulip bulbs that looked good in the catalog, but were all dried out and chewed up when they came. I traded my hard-earned dollars for something from a questionable source that made it seem like a bargain.
The worst trade-offs are the biggest ones. We want material things so badly we sometimes are willing to trade time with our loved ones to get them. We may trade time with our brethren in worship or service to God for a career advancement or even an extra hour of sleep on Sunday. Either way, it’s a bad trade.
You know the saying, “Better than a stick in the eye?” I literally got a stick in the eye last summer, and I can verify that almost anything fits that sardonic description.
Samson’s next choice, Delilah, got him just that, and worse. Nothing again would “look good” after the Philistines put out his eyes. (Judges 16:21).
Let’s be careful about trading our treasures for what “looks good.”