Cost Benefit Analysis
"Just as you used to offer the parts of
your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now
offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were
slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit
did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those
things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and
have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the
result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God
is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:19-23 NIV)
Several years ago I decided to take some classes towards a Certificate in
Accounting, which is the field in which I work. It was hard taking classes
and also working full time, but I enjoyed the challenge.
One of the things you learn about is something called "cost/benefit analysis". Cost/benefit analysis is a tool to use to determine the value of an expenditure, or simply, does the benefit of an action or purchase outweigh the cost? If we make poor choices in using our resources in business, we may find ourselves out of business, or worse, in bankruptsy court! Life is the same way.
If we make good choices, we prosper and if we make poor choices, we may find ourselves spiritually bankrupt. The verse above is a spiritual cost/benefit analysis. Was the benefit we reaped worth the cost? Or was the cost of sin much too high?
We all have the option of free will in our lives, will we be slaves to sin, or slaves to righteousness that leads to eternal life?
Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Romans 6:16 (NIV)
Sonya Richards