Why does everything cost so much and getting more expensive? I don't know what $100 a barrel of oil means, but I know what $3 a gallon means. Ouch! I fully expect $3.50 by Christmas. I don't know how people are doing it? Can anyone say credit card debt? How about second mortgages? I seriously look for mortgage or quick cash lenders to start showing up at or next door to convenient stations. Several grocery stores and Wal-mart already have them in their buildings in my area.
After several years in ministry, my observation is that most people can't spell budget. It's simply not in their vocabulary. Now spending, that's a whole new subject. People buy, go, spend with little thought about income. A lot of people I know are like the freshman girl a former college administrator and friend told me about, who wrote checks all over town thinking that the bank would just fill up her checking account when it ran dry. Wouldn't that be great? Talk about bounce protection.
My observation is that most people end up in financial trouble when they fail to develop and work a financial plan. We call that accounting and be accountable. Can't outspend your income. It's just that simple. But you can carefully budget and plan so that your bases are covered. Driving an Escalade or Lexus would be nice, but my 92 Ford Areostar Van gets me there and hauls stuff around for our church plant just fine. Insurance is less. Property tax is less. Tags are less. No car payments. And nobody wants to steal a 92 Ford Areostar Van. In other words, it fits a church planter's personal budget. It's what I can afford. Right now I couldn't handle payments on a new vehicle.
Counting the cost is hard. But here's what else I've learned; people who don't count the cost financially, rarely count the cost in various other areas of their life. They don't count the cost in their relationships. They don't count the cost in their behavior. They don't count the cost of their time. And if we don't count the cost, more often than not we get caught short. Some people live life believing they can do whatever they want and they won't get caught or have to pay any consequences.
I have a little saying that goes like this, "You can choose to do whatever you want. But you can't choose the consequences." There are always consequences for our actions, good or bad. Jesus says in this passage that anyone with any smarts will sit down and do the accounting. If you don't figure the costs, you're gonna pay the price. It's true in all areas of life, including your spiritual life. Jesus says that if you're not willing to give your life over to Him you can't be His disciple. If you're not His disciple, you're on your own with God. Question: Who do you want to be representing you before God on Judgment Day, Jesus or you? Just a thought.
God, I know it's all or nothing with you. You want all of me or none of me. My problem is that I want you but I want things of this world too. Sometimes I just don't count the cost. I want to fudge the numbers. Help me count the cost daily in areas of my life.
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