They say that everyone has a price, right?  That everything is for sale.

So tell me one thing that money can’t buy and isn’t for sale.  Why you are thinking, I have a story to tell.

Yesterday, it was mentioned to me that a young lady decided to share her body with a young man as long as the young man took her to their high school prom in a few weeks.  Don’t get me wrong — I am not so naive to think that this reciprocal giving doesn’t happen every day.  It happens in business, politics, and schools.  We are in a constant state of “What am I willing to give up or settle with that still gets me something that I want or need?”

Some of you may not remember the movie, “Indecent Proposal” with Robert Redford and Demi Moore where Demi spends one night with Robert Redford, even though she is married to Woody Harrelson — the couple agrees to this because they need the money, but it backfires on them and they become even more distant from one another.  They separate and go their separate ways.  But in the end, they look at themselves and remember what their soul looks like and begin to listen to it once again…

This is how every contract negotiation is handled — whether it be in a courtroom or board room.

And whether or not that young lady and young man will carry any shame or regret for the decisions they have made, it made me wonder…what amount is enough big enough to sell your soul?  Why is it even available?  And the really said part is that this kind of buying and selling has now gone to places like Angie’s List and Craigslist.

What do we give up when we sell a part of who we are?  When we bargain for the cheapest deal, but we still feel like we came out with something valuable?

We each value things differently.  To a homeless person, $10.00 could feel like they just won the lottery where as $10.00 to someone else might buy them lunch for one day.

So, if you were to put a price on your soul, how much would it cost?

How much is your self-worth going for today?

Can you tell me what I should pay to corrupt everything you know to be true about yourself?  When you shamefully throw yourself at the mercy of whoever happens to be standing closest to you?  When you cry yourself to sleep, knowing you weren’t strong enough to fight through the temptation?  When you cannot forgive your mistakes or your lapses in judgment?  When you cannot forget the recurring nightmare that seems to haunt you, even in the daylight?  When you shake your head in disbelief as you try to muster the courage to admit what you have done?  When you become so tormented by something you cannot take back that your only answer is to continue hurting yourself in ways that never make it better?  When you try to hide from who you are?

People will hold out for the highest bidder, hoping to get a few dollars more.  We will put our “eggs in one basket” hoping for the big score.  We aim for greatness because good doesn’t cut it.  We are never full because we covet more — it is never enough.

There is NO amount of money that should ever buy a soul.  Not even the Devil could seal the deal when Johnny went down to Georgia, made famous in the song by The Charlie Daniels Band.  We have but one soul and it is worth more money than we could ever imagine.  It is priceless.  It should not be something we hold onto so loosely that we freely give it to the first person that has a few dollars in their pocket.

Because once you have allowed your soul to go on the auction block, you will never get it back.  It will never be in the same condition it was before you allowed it to be sold.  It will come back tattered and torn, full of holes that never existed before, and no matter how hard you try, you jut cannot fix it.  It is permanent.

It doesn’t matter how we sell our souls — whether we use our bodies, negotiate through business, or make promises because of politics — at some point, we will be left with a reflection of who we are.  As we stare intently at who we have become, we will feel the guilt and humiliation of acts done.  Our choices have become our legacy and how we will be remembered.

And no matter how hard we try, we cannot go back.  We cannot undo what has been done.  But that doesn’t mean we have to continue doing it either.  Don’t let someone take what isn’t theirs.  Don’t go against your own principles just because you think it will get you something you think you want.  You will be more upset about they way you achieved something than what you achieved and it will torment you forever.

Hold onto your soul.  It is not for sale — at ANY price. Refuse to be a victim to someone who cannot afford you.  Keep true and steady to who you are and listen to your soul.  It knows what you are worth.  Do not sell your character, your values, or morals just because you think someone else is getting ahead that way.  Let them go their own way — you go yours.  Don’t sacrifice who you are…regardless of what someone is willing to pay.

No matter what, we all find ourselves on the same road — the road to redemption.

Michelle A. Homme 2015 ©