Good morning. There is an old saying, “You get what you pay for.” Typically, those words are uttered when we think we have found a bargain. We may even brag to friends about our cleverness in finding what we need at such an exceptional price, only to discover that there are good reasons why it cost us half as much: Rather than lasting years, it is broken in days. Rather than functioning well enough to do the job required, we learn that it doesn’t actually work well enough to get the needed job done. The guarantee actually isn’t “worth the paper it was written on”.
Here are a few quotes that may share a bit of insight on this subject:
“If you think it is expensive to hire a professional, see what happens when you hire an amateur. Or worse yet, what happens when you try to do it yourself!” (I’m not sure who said this first, but the thought is not original with me)
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.” John F. Kennedy
“A doctor gave a man six months to live. When he couldn’t pay his bill, the doctor gave him another six months.” Henny Youngman
“It is said that the world is in a state of bankruptcy. Which means the world owes the world more than the world can pay.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“One way to make sure that crime doesn’t pay would be to let the government run it.” Ronald Reagan
“Freedom is never ‘dear at any price’. Freedom is the breath of life. What would a man not pay for living?” Mahatma Gandhi
Such quotes could go on and on, but I would like to share one more:
“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without discipline, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from his book “The Cost of Discipleship”. Bonhoeffer was captured by the Nazis not long after writing those words and was killed for his refusal to compromise his faith.
Jesus said it this way: “If anyone would follow Me, they must deny themself and daily lift up their cross and follow.” Luke 9:23
Jesus tells us that life with Him is wonderful, glorious, the pathway to heaven. What He never tells us is that it is a life without cost. Yes, there is cost, and yes, He is worth it!
Vern