Bought with a price

This is an essay I wrote for my English Composition class last semester. I hope you enjoy it!

“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 7:23, ESV

Today is a scorching summer day in East Texas. I am babysitting the Bradshaw children. The weather is too hot to play outside, so I try to keep the children occupied indoors.

Kenny is five years old. He sits cross-legged on the floor, impatiently pecking at his red toy cash register.

“So, Julia, whaddya wanna buy?”

“Oh, I don’t know…” I am tired and sweaty—this has been a long day. “What do you think I should buy, Kenny?”

“Well, you should get the camera. Look, it squeaks when you wiggle this part.”

“But Kenny, I already have a camera!”

“Come on, Julia, you GOTTA buy something! How much money do you gots? 200?”

Although Kenny is very intelligent, he has not learned much about money or large numbers yet. This fact makes playing store especially interesting. Kenny does not care how much money you truly possess—your imagination is what counts.

“Yes, Kenny, I have even more than 200!” He is getting excited. His eyes open wider and he leans forward slightly.

“Well, do you gots millions and millions?”

“Yeah! I have millions and millions!”

Kenny sits up tall and tries to look important. He is secretly thrilled about his chance to one-up me. “WELL, Julia, I gots millions, billions, jillions, kabillions, and TADILLIONS!”

Kenny hands me a pile of fake money. “Now you gotta buy something, ‘cause I want my money back. Just buy the whole house.”

“OK. How much money does that cost?”

Kenny pushes several number buttons on his register and opens and closes the drawer three times. He coolly announces the price: “It costs a million tadillion.”

I fall over in mock despair. “But Kenny, I only have a million million!”

He stares at me like I’ve lost my marbles, raising his eyebrows and crinkling his nose. “Well just go home and save some more!”

Janie, Kenny’s four-year-old sister, decides that I need some help. “It’s okay, Julia, let’s just go to the bank and buy some more money!”

Kenny is really getting into this game. He replies, “Janie, that’ll take too long. And Julia can’t drive yet.”

Janie is perplexed. She asks, “Why not? Isn’t she big enough? How old are you, Julia? 47 or 52?”

I try not to laugh. She forgets my age quite often. “Janie, I’m only fifteen, silly goose!” “Oh, yeah.” She giggles. She just woke up from her nap ten minutes ago, so her brains are not really warmed up yet.

Kenny sternly tells us to “Stop talking, ‘cause we’re playing store right now.” Janie purchases a few of her own belongings, but Kenny is not satisfied. He pleads, “Julia, you have to buy something right now!”

“Okay, Kenny, I will! Just tell me what to buy!”

“Okay, you can buy Janie.” Kenny suggests this with the air of a businessman who knows his sale is made.

Janie has an objection. “But I don’t have a tag on me!”

Kenny is undaunted. “That’s okay, you cost three hundred and fifty-nine and five and eighty-two!”

Janie is greatly relieved to find that she does, indeed, have a price. She looks at me eagerly. “Julia, are you gonna buy me?”

Kenny gives the details. “Janie can come live with you in the kitchen. But if she doesn’t obey you, she has to come back to live here with me. Or if she gets the hiccups or sneezes, then she has to live here again.”

He warns Janie to be obedient as I give him all his money. I invite Kenny to stop by our house in the kitchen and visit us any time, and he promises to do so. Janie is fairly ecstatic. She tells him goodbye and skips down the hall beside me--and as we near the kitchen, Janie reaches up and slips her hand into mine.


Just as I “purchased” Janie, God has purchased me, His child. He paid a much higher price than a few slips of fake money—he gave his very life to ransom me from my sin. He has called me to live with Him. He loves me infinitely, and He likes me too. He won’t send me back if I make a mistake, fail to measure up, or get the “hiccups.” He is truly a loving Redeemer and Friend.