There’s a great story about a man named Johnny Lingo who lived in the Samoan islands. It was said that he was one of the shrewdest traders that ever lived. He always got the very lowest price for what he wanted; and would bring back to his home island, the most beautiful, rare and valuable things in the world.
But Johnny was lacking one thing: a wife
On the Samoan islands, if a man wanted to marry a woman he would go to the woman’s family and ask for the woman’s hand in marriage. He and her father would then negotiate a suitable payment for her hand.
The price was paid in cows
On this island was a 19-year-old woman named Mahana. She was not like the other girls. She was scrawny, walked stooped over, and never smiled. She lurked in the shadows, she was dirty, and she never combed her hair, nor put flowers in it like the other girls on the island. Her nickname was “Mahana Ugly.” In fact her father, Mokie, had given up hope that Mahana would ever find a husband.
Word got around that Johnny Lingo was choosing “Mahana Ugly”
Johnny could have had any woman on the island, but something about Mahana had caught his eye. People began to come to their own conclusions about what Johnny was up to. “He wants a woman he can get for nothing,” they said. “That Johnny Lingo is so is shrewd! He will buy ‘Mahana Ugly’ and he will have free labor the rest of his life.”
Johnny Lingo sat opposite Mahana’s father, surrounded by the people of the village. Mahana was too shy to make herself visible, so she hid in a nearby cluster of trees, close enough to hear the humiliating ceremony. The crowd was silent as Johnny began the negotiation for Mahana’s hand in marriage.
Mahana’s father Mokie was also shrewd
Mokie knew that Johnny Lingo drove hard bargains, so when Johnny asked how many cows it will take to gain Mahana’s hand, Mokie didn’t answer right away.
Mokie had said many times that he would “take one cow that gave sour milk just to get rid of Mahana.” But greed got a hold of him and he shouted out, “THREE COWS!”
The villagers erupted with laugher. “He must be crazy, thinking he can get three cows for Mahana!!!” Johnny Lingo called for silence. “It is true, threes cows are many,” he said. “But three cows are not enough for Mahana. For Mahana I offer eight cows!”
The villagers gasped
Mokie stared at Johnny Lingo, sure that he must’ve said, “eight cows” by mistake. It was unheard of! No one had ever offered eight cows for a wife! Mokie quickly agreed before Johnny had a chance to come to his senses and change his mind. The couple were married and left the village for an extended honeymoon.
Many months later the villagers were surprised to see that Johnny Lingo had returned home with one of the most beautiful woman they had ever seen.
Another woman?
Johnny Lingo’s companion stood tall and walked confidently, yet gracefully. She had a radiant smile on her face. Her hair glistened in the sun and was always adorned with beautiful flowers.
Someone finally got the nerve to ask Johnny Lingo the question that had been on all their minds, “Why would you pay that much when you could have gotten Mahana for nothing?”
Johnny looked at his beautiful bride, smiled, and said “Mahana used to believe she was worthless. She now knows that she’s the most valuable woman on the island. And so do you.”
For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. (1 Peter 1:18–19, NLT)
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