The Personal Weblog of Travis Kaiser

I think every high school student should take an economics class. Economics has rooted in it the very fibers that make up life: supply and demand, utility, efficiency, marginal analysis, equilibrium, game theory, and who can forget opportunity cost.

It is that last one that I love the most - opportunity cost! I remember the day I learned that principle in class. The experience was like the rain of knowledge was pouring down on me. In short, opportunity cost is the giving up of something(s) in order to get something else. For us, it exposes the need to make choices. All choices involve opportunity cost because the decision of one option always means deciding against some other option(s). For example, if I go on vacation to Florida that means I didn’t choose Colorado, Spain, Cancun, or a whole slew of other things I could have done that week. If I were to list all the options I didn’t chose then the top item on my list is my greatest opportunity cost and all other items follow down the list according to their “cost”.

 A great Biblical principle can be learned from this gold nugget of economics. Jesus simply said to the diciples “Follow me”. The command was short but extremely difficult. It was a call to put off the old man (Col 3:9-10) and in being new creations to put on the new man (2 Cor 5:17). The same call applies to our lives when God draws us. Are we willing to put aside our selfish desires, our pride, the desire to want the attention, in order to follow Christ and allow Him to be Lord of our lives? It was unfortunate but the rich young ruler was given the same offer to “come follow” Jesus as did the disciples but chose his wealth instead. He weighed the cost but “went away sad” the Bible says. Opportunities cost!

I’ve seen this principle cripple people when mission trips are discussed. They sense God is calling them and in return they believe it means that He will provide a smooth ride. God calls us to join Him in His work. So sometimes when it comes to a mission trip we have to work, sacrifice, and be creative in order for us to make it possible with God’s help. I know people who have cut cable, stopped getting the newspaper, quit eating out, and other “outrageous” ideas in order for them to match up with what God was calling them to do. Just before I moved here I saw a 16 year old student work 60 hour weeks for two and a half months to pay for his own mission trip. Too much work? Maybe. But what I saw was the sacrifice of movies, theme parks, late night video games, and sleep in order for a teenager to fulfill God’s call. After his trip I heard that he said he would do it all over again. That’s challenging!

So… how are you doing in God’s economy? Are you choosing the “new man’s” cost of discipleship or are you in spiritual bankruptcy by following the opportunity of the “old man”?

Have choices to make? Just remember to factor in the costs!