The Most Costly Thing in the World

The Diamond

The Hope Diamond is a blue diamond found in the Kollur Mine in Golconda, India, before 1666, when Jean-Baptiste Tavernier purchased it in its uncut form. It weighed 112 3/16 carats.

Tavernier sold the diamond to King Louis XIV of France in 1668.

In 1673, the court jeweler recut the stone, making it 67 1/8-carat. It became known as the Blue Diamond of the Crown or the French Blue. The stone was set in gold and suspended on a neck ribbon worn by the king on ceremonial occasions.

Louis XV had the stone reset in 1749 as a ceremonial piece for the Order of the Golden Fleece. When Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempted to flee France in 1791, the Hope Diamond was given to the French government.

Stolen in 1792, it was found in 1812 in the possession of Daniel Eliason, a London diamond merchant.

Its next owner was Henry Philip Hope, from whom the diamond takes its name. Upon Henry Hope’s death in 1839, the diamond passed to his nephew, Henry Thomas Hope, and ultimately to the nephew’s grandson, Lord Francis Hope.

From this point forward, the diamond had several owners, including Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean of Washington, D.C. She bought it and had it mounted as a headpiece on a three-tiered circlet of large white diamonds by Pierre Cartier in 1911. The diamond remained in her possession until 1947.

After her death, Henry Winston, Inc., of New York City, purchased Mrs. McLean’s jewelry, including the Hope diamond necklace. For ten years, the diamond was part of exhibits and charitable events around the world. On November 10, 1958, Winston donated the diamond to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., where it remains on permanent exhibition today.

The diamond alone weighs 45.52 carats. The pendant is set with 16 pear-shaped and cushion-cut white diamonds, and the chain contains 45 white diamonds. Its estimated value is $200-$350 million.

The Yacht

The History Supreme is the most expensive yacht in the world, and its features and amenities are the reason why. Gold and similar precious metals are used inside and out. One wall of the primary bedroom is made of meteorite, and another is made into a 24-carat gold Aquavista Panoramic Wall aquarium. The primary bathroom has a meteorite embedded in one wall. The yacht holds the bones of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a bottle embedded with an 18.5-carat diamond estimated to be worth $45 million, and an iPhone encrusted with 500 cut diamonds.

The History Supreme is 30 meters long, apparently short for a luxury yacht. It has never been seen in any major port, and rumors suggest that it doesn’t exist and is simply a publicity stunt. It reportedly belongs to Malaysia’s richest man, Robert Kuok, and was designed by Stuart Hughes in England. The estimated value of the yacht is $4.8 billion.

The Degree

One might think Yale, Harvard, or Stanford Universities would be the most expensive places to obtain higher education, but they’d be wrong. Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, holds the record as the most expensive college tuition in the United States for a four-year degree.

For this whopping tuition, you receive high-quality, education–rigorous academic programs with distinguished faculty and a wide range of graduate and undergraduate programs. Northwestern is a leading research institution where students can participate in cutting-edge research projects, often with renowned experts.

The university provides a strong alumni network that can be invaluable for career opportunities and mentorship. It also has state-of-the-art facilities, including libraries, laboratories, and recreational centers. Career counseling and health services are also available to students. The tuition for certain four-year degrees is between $85,000.00 and $90,000.00.

The Horse

Champion thoroughbred racehorse Fusaichi Pegasus, nicknamed Fu Peg, was born on April 12, 1997, and purchased by Fusao Sekiguchi as a yearling for $4 million. He won the Kentucky Derby in 2000. Then he was sold to Irish breeder Coolmore Stud for $70 million.

For over a decade before his death, he was part of Coolmore’s breeding operation. Fu Peg retired from stud duty at the end of the 2020 season and died on May 23, 2023, euthanized because of issues attributed to old age. He was 26 years old.

The Car

The Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail is the most expensive car available today.

It is a hard-top convertible with 1,603 separate hand-finished wood pieces. The exterior is painted using a process that takes 150 iterations of the color before it is perfect and will change color depending on the sunlight. Direct sun – vibrant color. Shade or cloud cover–a purplish-black hue. The interior is dark crimson with an almost velvet-like finish. It requires four years to build the car. The purchase price is $30 million.

So, what is the most costly thing in this world?

Sin. From the day that sin entered this world, mankind has suffered for just a slight deviation from God’s instruction.

“To Eve, it seemed a small thing to disobey God by tasting the fruit of the forbidden tree, and to tempt her husband also to transgress; but their sin opened the floodgates of woe upon the world. Who can know, in the moment of temptation, the terrible consequences that will result from one wrong step?” Our Father Cares, 170

Redemption came at a staggering price, a price beyond comprehension, but heaven paid that price. Why? Because God is love, and true love engenders respect, faith, trust, and obedience. We do not have that kind of love, nor can we make it. Therefore, man is destined to live loving only himself unless he humbly surrenders and a miraculous transformation occurs in his nature and heart.

The natural, unregenerated heart of mankind wants the most while giving very little of itself, and it doesn’t take much for terrible consequences to result.

Archduke Ferdinand of Austria

Except for a wrong turn, Archduke Ferdinand, the presumptive heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife might not have died on June 28, 1914, and WWI might have been averted or at least delayed.

There were two assassination attempts that day. First, the would-be assassin threw a bomb into the Duke’s car, but the chauffeur was able to deflect it away. Several innocent bystanders and members of the Duke’s entourage were injured, but he and his wife were safe.

After arriving at a place of safety, the Duke insisted on visiting those who had been injured. However, the chauffeur made a wrong turn, and before he could turn the vehicle around, the assassin, hiding out in a café right next to their car, was able to shoot the Duke and his wife. Thus began “the war to end all wars.”

The Fall of Constantinople

In 1453, the Ottomans launched a campaign against Constantinople. The Byzantines defended the city and had a good chance of winning, even though the Ottomans had the numerical advantage and significant firepower—namely cannons. However, Constantinople had thick, high walls that could withstand, at least for a while, the onslaught of the Ottomans. If the Byzantines could hold on long enough, allies from Europe were on their way and would have turned the tide of the battle.

Unfortunately, the Byzantines wasted their bravery and skill because of a critically foolish mistake: someone forgot to close a gate. When the Ottomans took the gate and hoisted their flag above its tower, chaos ensued, the defenders’ resistance faded away, and the Ottomans successfully took the city.

Discovery of the New World

When Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, he headed west toward Japan, some 3,000 miles away. He thought that if he sailed to Japan and beyond just a little more, he would reach the Indies. The problem was Columbus had made a very significant mathematical error. He miscalculated the size of the globe. Japan was, in fact, 12,000 miles away, and because of this error, he had made, most likely, the most momentous mistake in history.

The Bismarck

On February 14, 1939, a state-of-the-art battleship was launched from Hamburg, Germany. The 823-foot Bismarck was intended to herald the rebirth of the German surface battle fleet. Once the order was given for her to break out into the Atlantic Ocean, she would be almost impossible to track down, and consequently, she was able to wreak havoc on the Allied convoys to Britain.

The British Home Fleet mounted a search to locate the Bismarck, and on May 24, the British battle cruiser Hood and battleship Prince of Wales located her near Iceland. The ensuing battle was ferocious. The Hood exploded and sank, with only three of her 1,421 crewmen surviving. The Bismarck escaped and fled to occupied France.

On May 26, the Bismarck was sighted and crippled by British aircraft. The  next day, three British warships attacked her, inflicting heavy damage. The pride of the German navy was a floating wreck. The order came to scuttle the ship, and she quickly sank, taking all but 115 of her 2,221 crewmen with her.

How were the British able to destroy the Bismarck? Her rudder had been damaged during the battle, and she could only sail in a circle. She couldn’t run, so she became an easy target.

The Costliest Thing

People think it’s just a little thing, a little white lie. A husband doesn’t want to hurt his wife’s feelings if he tells her how she really looks in that dress. Admirable. What harm can it do? But when a friend says, “Girl, why are you wearing that dress? It doesn’t look that good on you.” Then, the most important trust, next to trust in God, is damaged. How can the wife trust what her husband says? What damage does a little white lie do to the husband who spoke it?

“The least departure from truthfulness and rectitude is a transgression of the law of God. Continual indulgence in sin accustoms the person to a habit of wrongdoing, but does not lessen the aggravated character of the sin. God has established immutable principles, which He cannot change without a revision of His whole nature. If the word of God were faithfully studied by all who profess to believe the truth, they would not be dwarfs in spiritual things. Those who disregard the requirements of God in this life would not respect His authority were they in heaven.” To Be Like Jesus, 175

Sin’s consequences are the most damaging and costly. Eve took a bite of the fruit. And then she took the fruit to Adam. We all have an influence, either directly or indirectly. Everything we say and do is either spoken or done to someone or observed, read, or heard by someone. Many people fail, as did Adam, when given the choice between the demands of our human nature and obeying God. The Bible says that if we love anyone or anything more than God, we are not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:37, 38; Exodus 20:3).

“Whatever have been the little sins indulged [they] will ruin the soul, unless they are overcome. The small sins will swell into the greater sins.” The Review and Herald, May 24, 1887

“Adam and Eve suffered the terrible consequences of disobeying the express command of God. They might have reasoned: This is a very small sin, and will never be taken into account. But God treated the matter as a fearful evil, and the woe of their transgression will be felt through all time.” Testimonies, Vol. 4, 311, 312

“But God in heaven is weighing moral worth. He will judge righteously. … God’s people must arise, and gird themselves with the whole armor of righteousness.” The Review and Herald, May 24, 1887

There Are Always Consequences

Sin has caused the most significant and costly consequences. Man lost his relationship with God, separated forever from Him in whom we delight, unable to live in the presence of the Almighty God—instead trading righteousness and holiness for selfishness, darkness, and ultimate destruction and death, as easily as Esau traded his birthright for a bowl of stew—causing the Prince of heaven to leave His glorious home above to come to this sin-darkened world so that man might be holy once again.

“Adam yielded to temptation, and as we have the matter of sin and its consequences laid so distinctly before us, we can read from cause to effect and see the greatness of the act is not that which constitutes sin; but the disobedience of God’s expressed will, which is a virtual denial of God, refusing the laws of His government. …

“The law of self is erected, human will is made supreme, and when the high and holy will of God is presented to be obeyed, respected, and honored, the human will wants its own way, to do its own promptings, and there is a controversy between the human agent and the Divine.” Christ Triumphant, 25

Friends, sin is sin. It doesn’t matter if it is big or small; it’s all sin. It ruins the soul of the one in whom it dwells, and its consequences affect family, friends, and even the world. But there is an antithesis to sin—God’s love—a love so strong that God made a plan. If we choose, the execution of the plan provides the way to restore us—body, soul, mind, and spirit—to His likeness. All the world’s languages cannot adequately express what God has done for us, nor the enormity of the price that He and all of heaven paid to ensure our salvation.

“As a transgressor of the law, man was condemned as hopelessly ruined; for he was the enemy of God, without strength to do any good thing; but Christ came to reveal to him the justice and love of God, to give repentance to Israel and remission of sins. When the sinner beholds Jesus lifted up upon the cross, suffering the guilt of the transgressor and the consequences of sin, he beholds God’s abhorrence of evil in this fearful manifestation, and sees His love for fallen man: ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’

“The Lord could have cut off the sinner and utterly destroyed him; but the costlier plan was chosen. In His great love He provides hope for the hopeless in giving His only-begotten Son to bear the sins of the world. Since God has poured out all heaven in that one rich gift, He will withhold no needed aid from man. All the agencies of heaven are at the command of the believing soul, that he may be successful in the warfare against the powers of darkness. He who believes in Jesus Christ as fully able to save his soul, believes the gospel, and hath eternal life.” The Signs of the Times, June 27, 1892

“Jesus suffered the extreme penalty of the law for our transgression, and justice was fully satisfied. The law is not abrogated; it has not lost one jot of its force. Instead, it stands forth in holy dignity, Christ’s death on the cross testifying to its immutability. Its demands have been met, its authority maintained.

“God spared not His only-begotten Son. To show the depth of His love for man, He delivered Him up for us all. ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ (John 1:29). Behold Him dying on the cross. Behold Him who was equal with God, mocked and derided by the mob. Behold Him in Gethsemane, bowed under the burden of the sins of the whole world.

“Was the penalty remitted because He was the Son of God? Were the vials of wrath withheld from Him who was made sin for us? Without abatement the penalty fell upon our divine-human Substitute.

“Hear His cry, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Mark 15:34). He was treated as a sinner, that we might be treated as righteous, that God might be just, and yet the Justifier of the sinner. …

“The love existing between the Father and His Son cannot be portrayed. It is measureless. In Christ, God saw the beauty and perfection of excellence that dwells in Himself. Wonder, O heavens, and be astonished, O earth, for God spared not His own Son, but gave Him up to be made sin for us, that those who believe may be made the righteousness of God in Him. …

“Language is too feeble for us to attempt to portray the love of God. We believe it, we rejoice in it, but we cannot comprehend it.” In Heavenly Places, 15

“It was in consequence of sin that man was shut out from the throne of God, but Christ steps in and pays the price, and through His merits man is brought back in favor with God. …

“Christ with His long human arm encircles the fallen race, while with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the Almighty, thus uniting earth with heaven, and fallen, finite man with the Infinite God. And this earth, which was divorced from heaven, is again united with heaven. A communication is opened with heaven through Jesus Christ [so] that man, who was fallen, is brought back again into favor with God. …

“And now the question is, Will man fasten his thoughts upon the things of eternal interest and work in harmony with God? … Heaven we want, every one of us. You cannot afford to lose heaven. You cannot afford to have the gates of paradise closed to you. You want heaven, eternal life.

“Then what will you do in order to obtain it? You must be obedient to all of God’s commandments. It is the only moral standard and rule that God has given for the use of His subjects. He has rules and statutes, and it is for man to obey them.” Sermons and Talks, Vol. 2, 32, 33

We cannot comprehend the love that condescended to leave glory to come to this world of darkness and sin, offering salvation to a dying race. God gave. Jesus came. And soon He will return. His death paid the most costly price, and His life shows us the way. Are we following? Have we chosen to be changed? Do we want heaven? Then, we must accept His salvation and be recreated in the image of God.

Judy Rebarchek is the managing editor of the LandMarks magazine. She may be contacted by email at judyrebarchek@stepstolife.org