When the wedding celebration came to an end, Tobit called his son Tobiah and said to him, "Son, see to it that you give what is due to the man who made the journey with you; give him a bonus too." Tobiah said: "Father, how much shall I pay him? It would not hurt me at all to give him half of all the wealth he brought back with me. He led me back safe and sound; he cured my wife; he brought the money back with me; and he cured you. How much of a bonus should I give him?" Tobit answered, "It is only fair, son, that he should receive half of all that he brought back." So Tobiah called Raphael and said, "Take as your wages half of all that you have brought back, and go in peace." (Tobit 12: 1-5)

How do we recognize value?

Tobit had promised to pay Raphael "normal wages" for each day of the journey and reimburse any expenses.

Half of the wealth brought back is considerably more.

Tobiah lists what Raphael has contributed, he could have listed more.

Has Raphael earned half? A case could be made that he had earned all.

But more to the point, Tobit and Tobiah are only obligated to pay a small portion.

They choose to go beyond fulfilling an obligation and, instead, recognize value received.

They choose to recognize reality and respond with thankfulness.

Above are all our main characters, left to right, Sarah, Raphael, Tobiah, Tobit, the dog, and Anna by Jan Massys