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"Opportunity cost is the price you pay for missing out on an opportunity because you chose something else." (D. Greene)
We all make choices. Is this choice taking me closer to what I'm really after, or is this choice a distraction from my ultimate goal? (We should ask ourselves this when it comes to relationships, investments, jobs, time, etc.)
Only YOU know what's truly important to YOU. Position yourself so that you can advance in the direction you really desire to go, and not settle for what just happens to appear on your pathway.
For example: I chose to be family-minded when I got married at 20 (to a woman who was my best friend in high school) and we had kids a few years later. There were loads of challenges in that choice, including our foreknowledge of each other's orientations. (I can laugh about that now, thank God!) Yet, I don't regret it one bit. I'm thankful for what that choice will still produce in years to come and what it will be like if both of us re-marry, living in our truth.
My focus on building a family in my 20s perhaps had an opportunity cost - one which I'd gladly pay again.
Jesus had a startling statement and relevant question to share regarding opportunity cost:
"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:27-28 NASB).
(Disclaimer: This section of Scripture has been taken out of context and caused harm to some people, being inhumanely applied and incorrectly taken literally - especially Luke 14:26 which talks about "hating" family in some translations; we've got to be responsible and careful with how we interpret and apply Scripture, so that it is life-giving and not death-dealing).
Anyway, in this passage, Jesus is telling his followers about the cost of being his disciple. Their cross - figuratively speaking - is their cost! (This is not Jesus' demand that all of his followers from henceforward become martyrs!) He advises them to think deeply about this choice of discipleship and uses the comparison of a builder who meticulously prepares accurate estimates of the cost of the project ahead. He essentially tells his disciples that it will cost them everything, so they had better know what they're getting into.
For a present-day spiritual application, being a student and follower of Christ (the Spirit of Christ and the Principles of Christ) causes us to realize that there actually is no greater treasure than to be united with His Spirit and His Principles; and everything else that can be desired or achieved in life pales in comparison to the all-encompassing possession of this treasure. All other pursuits become secondary in value to this opportunity of union with Christ.
So, here's the relevant question: What are you building? There's a cost associated with it. Make sure it's what YOU really want your life to produce, and not a distraction or a settling-choice. Be willing to evolve and don't get stuck!
That's how I enjoy life.
May you also find your path of joy and travel it triumphantly!
~Jason Powell
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