One of my favorite TV shows is Pawn Stars on the History Channel. The show focuses on a pawnshop in Las Vegas owned by the Harrison family. People bring in items to pawn or sell for cash. You name it—they've got it. What I find most interesting, though, is how much each item is worth.

Often the would-be seller brings in an item he or she believes is worth thousands of dollars only to be offered far less. Sometimes what the customer is trying to sell is a fake and worthless. An object on which the seller placed so much value has no real value at all.

However, once in a while someone brings something in and finds out that it is worth far more than ever imagined. That individual had no idea such a valuable item was in his or her possession.

To succeed at their trade, the owners of the pawnshop meticulously determine what each object is worth. If they make too many bad decisions, the business would fail. Their livelihood depends on it. That's why they are Pawn Stars.

What's it worth to you?

Are we Pawn Star Christians or are we like the uninformed individuals walking into the pawnshop?

Here's what I mean. We all place value on different parts of our lives. We have jobs, education, family, friends and hobbies.

These are all important, but you may have noticed that I left one out—Christianity.

One of Jesus Christ's students, Matthew, wrote about an analogy Jesus used comparing the Kingdom of Heaven (or Kingdom of God) to a treasure in a field. A man comes across that treasure and realizes the great value. He sells everything he has so that he can buy the field and the valuable treasure it contains.

Then Jesus used a second analogy. A man is out looking for pearls and finds a pearl that he realizes is of high value. And once again, this man sells everything so that he can possess it (Matthew 13:44-46).

Know your merchandise

Let me ask again—are we Pawn Star Christians? Would we recognize that treasure in the field or the pearl of great price? Or do we place too much value on the wrong things?

Just as running a pawnshop is the Harrisons' business, Christianity should be our business. They need to properly appraise merchandise to be successful, and we need to properly value all aspects of our life to be successful Christians. If we put high value on the wrong things, we will fail in our occupation as a follower of Christ and not reach our ultimate goal of the Kingdom of God.

In our fast-paced, live-for-now world, it's easy to overlook the most valuable part of our life. Jesus Christ tells us that we can possess this most precious treasure of all, but first we have to recognize how much it is worth.

We don't want to be like some of those misguided Pawn Stars customers. We can't afford to place too much value on the wrong things some of which may even be counterfeits.

Let's learn to properly appraise our lives and be Pawn Star Christians.