I am not sure if I should be intimidated or flattered. The house two doors away went up for sale in recent days. The asking price is $498,500. When determining value of a house, the most often asked question is what are other properties in the immediate area going for. The house across the street in the other direction recently sold. It had an asking price of just under $80,000. Does that mean that my house, since it rests in some geographical midpoint between these two properties, is properly valued somewhere along the $418,000 continuum between 80K and 498K? I would like to see an agent arrive at some average and be able to provide reasonable supporting rationale. I propose an alternate pricing strategy: something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Maybe in place of posting an asking price, when listing property, one could simply advertise "Best Offer."

Real estate pricing is not my only cause for confusion this Sunday morning. The sermon at this morning's service addressed the concept of evil. I was left with a very confused picture as to the description of evil, the contemporary examples of evil offered, our inability to determine what is evil in real time, and the personal moral responsibility of the so-called evil-doer. There was one take-a-way. I am not able to use the rationalization: "The devil made me do it." Although in the final judgment, Someone else may determine that the malevolent spirit, in fact, did just that.

So, in the final result, I am left either flattered or intimidated. I may flatter myself with some, albeit limited, assurance that I have at least one out. Or I can be intimidated by the awareness that I have only one out. What's your best offer?