View Value -- FPC sermon excerpt
I just returned from a week of vacation on the coast of Maine, and I have to tell you — the scenery is spectacular. Problem is, you have to pay for it. A friend of mine casually inquired about the cost of a piece of waterfront land up there, one that sat on the end of a dirt road and contained a tiny two-bedroom, one-bath cottage. The price tag: $900,000.
Makes Fairfax County real estate sound like a bargain.
The views up in New Hampshire are getting pricey as well. In fact, officials across that scenic state have decided that majestic panoramas are now taxable. Good views are considered to be bonus features, like finished basements or extra bathrooms, and tax assessors are putting dollar amounts on them. This, in turn, requires homeowners with a beautiful view to pay extra property taxes.
According to The Washington Post (November 14, 2005), a man named Bennet Nicholson lived in a New Hampshire house overlooking the Connecticut River valley. The value of his spectacular scenery led to a doubling of his property taxes in one year. He ended up selling his house and moving to Canada.
Another resident made a formal complaint about the “view tax” when his property value doubled. He argued that he doesn’t own the view, he can’t control it, and it’s increasingly obscured by pollution. Besides, he is legally blind!
The tax assessor was unamused … and unmoved. The value of the view remained in place.
Putting a dollar amount on spectacular scenery might seem absurd to us, but in our hearts we all know that views have value. They really do. Seeing the world through the lens of Christian faith is what gives my life its meaning and purpose and value. It makes a difference to me that I view the world around me as a good creation of a loving God. I am so grateful that Jesus died to bring me forgiveness and new life. It really matters that I can experience the presence of Christ in our worship together, in the smile of a child in Vacation Bible School, and in the face of a homeless neighbor. It is of tremendous value to me that I can make a difference in this world as a disciple of Jesus, and as a person who can count on the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit every day.
Without this view, life would not have nearly as much value to me.
Makes Fairfax County real estate sound like a bargain.
The views up in New Hampshire are getting pricey as well. In fact, officials across that scenic state have decided that majestic panoramas are now taxable. Good views are considered to be bonus features, like finished basements or extra bathrooms, and tax assessors are putting dollar amounts on them. This, in turn, requires homeowners with a beautiful view to pay extra property taxes.
According to The Washington Post (November 14, 2005), a man named Bennet Nicholson lived in a New Hampshire house overlooking the Connecticut River valley. The value of his spectacular scenery led to a doubling of his property taxes in one year. He ended up selling his house and moving to Canada.
Another resident made a formal complaint about the “view tax” when his property value doubled. He argued that he doesn’t own the view, he can’t control it, and it’s increasingly obscured by pollution. Besides, he is legally blind!
The tax assessor was unamused … and unmoved. The value of the view remained in place.
Putting a dollar amount on spectacular scenery might seem absurd to us, but in our hearts we all know that views have value. They really do. Seeing the world through the lens of Christian faith is what gives my life its meaning and purpose and value. It makes a difference to me that I view the world around me as a good creation of a loving God. I am so grateful that Jesus died to bring me forgiveness and new life. It really matters that I can experience the presence of Christ in our worship together, in the smile of a child in Vacation Bible School, and in the face of a homeless neighbor. It is of tremendous value to me that I can make a difference in this world as a disciple of Jesus, and as a person who can count on the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit every day.
Without this view, life would not have nearly as much value to me.
posted by Henry Brinton | 7:47 AM
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