One of my roommates is a particularly skilled picker. The art of picking is a subtle one, but one that is a good source of ready cash and a skill that requires on a knowledge gap between buyer and seller. Interestingly enough, the History Channel, in its turn away from historical shows, has spent a great deal of time attempting to popularize pickers, who depend on their knowledge of value, the need of cash of sellers, and the ability to resell for a (relatively quick) profit. While this is not often a greatly historical exercise (at least it is not often seen that way), there is a surprising historical and economic value to it.

If you want to pick, it depends on having products that one knows the value of. If you know the value of something, then you are alert to those items that are being undervalued by their sellers. That allows you to buy low and sell high. This is a skill that is valuable to many forms of property. All too often people jump on forms of property to pick (or flip) based on the popularity of the property, driving up the value of those properties without possessing the knowledge to know their worth. But rather than following a crowd and becoming a sucker, it is better to gain understanding about the value of a particular type of property or enterprise, and then to use that knowledge for savings and profits.

One of my roommates provided an example of an easy way to do this today. A $0.10 purchase from someone who did not know the value of a product turned into a quick profit of $15.90, which then purchased a couple of spoons (both of them high quality spoons, one from the 19th and the other from the early 20th century), as well as some pyrite, as well as some groceries. This, of course, ought to remind someone of the parable of the talents and the parable of the minas. A lord gives his servants money and then expects them to make a profit. How are they to do that? They have acquire knowledge that provides rewards (not necessarily economically either), and then develop and practice those skills in the world.

There is a certain pleasure that one gets from recognizing value. Whether that is appreciating someone who does not receive a lot of thanks, or finding worthwhile property for inexpensive prices, there is a certain thrill in knowing value that others do not recognize. I wonder if our Lord and Savior felt that way when He was on the earth talking with Mary and Martha, hanging out with tax collectors and repentant sinners, and talking with the Samaritan woman at the well. Here were people the world thought little about, but they meant the world to Jesus Christ. And given the sort of picking and grinning that God does in recognizing value in what the world does not appreciate, why not follow His example? There is much of value in this world, and a lot of it is disguised to the eyes of many. Let us not be so unaware ourselves.