Costly

Story telling is one of the most effective ways to communicate a lesson…So I’ll be sharing alot of stories in today’s blog…enjoy 🙂

Clearance Sale Vs An Auction

Let me start with a story of two people looking to buy a car. One of them is looking for the best deal he can get. He is on a limited budget hence he needs a bargain. Infact, let’s call him the bargainer. He goes to a car dealership whereby they are having a clearance sale. The buyer identifies his desired car and he immediately starts haggling with the seller. The bargainer’s goal is to pay the least amount of money for the car.

The second buyer is looking for a very specific antique luxury car. Infact, he intends to own a collection of such cars. Let us call him the collector. He goes to an auction. As we know, in auctions, the item sells to the highest bidder. There are no fixed price tags and obviously, no bargaining. If you are not willing to pay the price for the item, someone else will. Once the collector has set his eyes on the prize, he successfully outbids every single person by consistently increasing the amount of money he is willing to pay. Eventually, he gets to go home with the antique luxury car.

It would be close to impossible for the bargainer to successfully buy a car at a luxury auction. This is because he is simply unwilling to go beyond a particular price…such that when it gets too costly, he leaves.

I wonder if this is how we treat our relationship with God sometimes…

We might be willing to oblige when the price is a weekly attendance at Church and an occasional prayer here and there. But what happens when it gets a little costly?

Are we bringing a bargaining mentality to an auction?

Counting The Cost

The Bible tells us that it is important to count the cost.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ ‘

Luke 14:28-30

I have another story to tell about a certain building project…

There was a woman who had a really beautiful blueprint for a building she wanted to put up on a prime piece of land that she owned. It was going to be a magnificent structure that would have rental space for offices, restaurants, businesses and the like. After its completion, the commercial property would become quite valuable and profitable. The only caveat is that she needed someone who could collaborate with her financially in bringing this vision to reality. Several potential investors had approached her over time, however, none of these negotiations really bore fruit. Eventually, she met one investor that she really liked. He seemed to know what he was doing and their initial negotiations showed alot of promise. When she finally showed him the actual blueprint and revealed what it would take to put up the building, the man counted the cost and decided that it would be quite difficult for him to be her building partner. He told her that he foresaw a situation whereby even if he tried to meet the cost, he would fail. The lady was obviously a little disappointed, however she appreciated his honesty and they stopped the negotiations.

Sometime later, the investor came back with a renewed effort to revisit the plans. He mentioned that he analyzed his portfolio and realized that he had actually built somewhat similar structures in the recent past and these projects did not bankrupt him. Hence, he felt like he might actually be in a position to meet the cost. The woman was pleasantly surprised and decided to explore the partnership since the man gave a very convincing pitch this second time around. Not too long after the groundbreaking, the man made a startling discovery…The other building projects he was benchmarking with were nothing compared to the magnitude of this structure. It was going to be costly. Very costly. Successfully executing the woman’s desired blueprint was going to require him to rethink his entire financial plan, timelines, foundation materials, building methods…it was going to be very very costly. So on one fateful night, as the woman was happily making hefty purchases and sinking more and more funds into the project, the man called her aside and told her that unfortunately the math wasn’t mathing. His initial projections were a far cry from the actual cost on the ground.

With both parties feeling very disappointed, the building project had to halt immediately since the woman was unwilling to edit the blueprint for a less demanding design, and the man was unable to meet the actual cost of the grand design.

Let It Be Costly

When someone believes that the price of an item exceeds its actual value, they tend to be unwilling to pay the full price…but when they realize that the price tag (despite being high) is actually much lower compared to the actual value of the item, they tend to be alot more willing to do what it takes to meet the cost.

Let us examine the parable of another man who understood this principle and acted accordingly.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. ‘

Matthew 13:44-46

There is a song by Naomi Raine titled ‘Costly’. The song is partly based off a story recorded in the Gospel of Matthew:

‘While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” ‘

Matthew 26:6-13

Inspired by this story, this is part of what Naomi Raine sings in Costly..

Here is my alabaster, poured out in worship
Here is my full surrender, I know it’s worth it
Some say it’s too expensive, I say it’s not enough
How could I give too much?

[Chorus]
Let it be costly, let it be costly

You are most worthy, most worthy.

Holding back nothing, let it mean something
You are most worthy, most worthy, Jesus

When you always get back more than what you put in, that is not a sacrifice, it is an investment. The ways of God might be costly, but they are worth it.

The cost of integrity might be a certain job or opportunity, but it is worth it.

The cost of doing relationships God’s way means that you might stay single for a while, but it is worth it.

The cost of discipleship means that you need to keep investing in the Word of God and wrestling with the difficult questions even when you don’t feel like it, but it will be worth it.

God’s rewards are infinitely more valuable than anything we could ever give up for His sake. Here is a promise that Jesus gives in the Gospel of Mark:

‘Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ‘

Mark 10:28-30

When the cost of being a follower of Christ feels too high, let us remember King David, who so earnestly understood the value of honoring God, such that even when he was presented with the opportunity for a bargain, he insisted on paying the full price:

‘Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” “To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.” Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.” But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. ‘

2 Samuel 24:21-24

We can never give too much or give up too much for the One who gave Himself for us.

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ‘

John 3:16

No bargains here. Let it be costly.