Do people value things received free of charge less than things they worked for?

I heard it again today, as I have many times before: “People don’t value something given to them for free.”

What is that thought based on, and where does it come from? Perhaps it comes from parents desiring to teach their children how to work hard for themselves, seeing them be careless with the toys they were given, and struggling to teach them how to properly take care of their stuff. However, just because children need to learn how to work hard, save, and be responsible with their resources does not mean that gifts are not valued as much as something that is purchased. Those are two very different things.

Please let me try to explain why I say that so emphatically. Think about the gifts you have received recently. If someone who cares for you gives you a gift, I am confident you will value that gift more than many of the things you have purchased recently. This past weekend was Father’s Day, and the gifts that my children gave me are gifts that I’m going to treasure for the rest of my life. Those gifts are meaningful to me because the people who gave me those gifts cared for me. Caring is important: Make sure you truly care for those that you are endeavoring to reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ – your caring for them will make a big difference.

And if somebody I don’t know as well as my children gives me a gift, I still value that gift. In fact, if somebody gives me anything, I will generally treasure it more than something I purchased myself, and I do think it is because I understand that there was a love motive behind that gift. But it’s not only love toward me that stirs this in my heart.

For example, our company sends tens of thousands of books to prisons and third-world countries, and we receive donations from individuals all around the world to help make that possible. When we receive a donation, that donation is very deliberately and earnestly tracked to make sure that we send out one book per dollar donated, as we promise. With our other income, we are not quite as diligent. While our other company profit is also used to send books to prisons and third-world countries, we may use that money for other things that are not quite as central to the mission. For example, we recently purchased a backup generator in case the power goes out. Is that absolutely essential? It is useful, yes, but those dollars did not directly to go toward the sending of books to needy individuals. My point is simply that money might be used for other things, whereas the donations are intentionally used for the purpose intended.

But why does this matter?

Well, I mentioned that we send books to prisoners and third-world countries. We also help our authors send their books to prisons and third-world countries if they wish to do so. However, many of our authors have a perception that if a book is given away, the recipient will not appreciate it as much as if he or she had purchased it personally. There is a fear that the donated book will go to waste.

The problem is – and this is really important – if the goal is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost, then we have to give away the books. The lost are not likely to search for a book about Jesus themselves. The only way many people will hear the gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time is if a Christian tells them about the reality of their desperate situation outside of Jesus Christ because of their sin, and also tells them that there is a solution: a Redeemer whose blood was shed for their sake.

We have to tell people on our own initiative. In most situations, people do not know that they are lost until someone tells them. We have to reach out on our own dime and have no regret about it, and by doing so we will reap a hundredfold reward from our Lord.

And yes, there is some waste. Some people will not read the book that you hand to them. Some of the books that we send to prisons and third-world countries no doubt get lost and never arrive at their intended destination. As much as we might try to avoid that situation, some loss is simply the reality.

BUT many other books do reach their intended destination, and God, through His Spirit, moves mightily in the hearts of individuals, and souls are stirred to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life.

And that is wonderful. One soul saved is worth more than the entire world. In fact, there are only two things that really matter: One, that we make sure we are in Christ and walking with Christ ourselves; and two, that we proclaim the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to the world (the great commission). Everything else is secondary.

Yes, giving away books that communicate the freely given gospel of Jesus Christ – which we ourselves receive freely, at no expense to us – is God’s economy, and He gets the glory!

– Jeremiah Zeiset