Have You Considered The Cost?
There is always a price to pay.

Introduction
Few things in this life are free.
If we want things, we must pay.
The amount we are willing to spend will determine what we can get and the quality of what we get.
The more you want the more it is going to cost you.
A car is expensive in the first place.
You can buy a used car that is ugly and dented, but if it gets you where you need to go and works for you, you can handle it.
If you want a newer car, it is going to cost more.
If you want power windows, heated seats, navigation or any other number of accessories; there is a price to pay.
Just about anything you can buy offers choices to you.
You might look at different brands, colors, sizes or whatever.
What you choose to buy is up to you most of the time.

Sure there are some things that are out of reach of our available funds, and we learn we must settle for less than what we really want.
I may want a large house, but if all I can afford is a mobile home, then I have to learn to be happy in what I can afford.
One of the hardest things to do for someone is to learn to be content in whatever their situation calls for.
The apostle Paul told the Philippians that he learned the secret of happiness by learning to be content in poverty or prosperity.
Philippians 4:12-13: “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”.

If I want something better, I learn that I have to improve myself to get a better paying job.
I must learn to budget and control my money carefully.
Even then, there are things that are out of my control in what I am able to do and afford.
Everything has a price, and that price has an effect upon whatever savings I may be trying to hold on to.

Tires need to be fixed or replaced.
Appliances break down; cars break down; lawnmowers break down.
In fact most everything breaks down sooner or later.
And we learn that if I am not careful, I may break down.
As we age, we find that things do not work the way they used to.
Then look at what that is going to cost.

Costs We Should Consider
There are things that have a cost associated which most people do not consider.
One being the value of the soul and what that is worth.
We also know that the cost of sin carries a huge price tag.
That price tag carries eternal consequences.
Most of the time, sin is nothing more than selfish desires becoming realities.

Sometimes the cost can be pricey.
A person who drinks, gets drunk, then drives and gets caught will have a price of lawyers, fines, driver's license suspension, not to mention the social stigma from the community.
And what will it cost if they kill someone with their negligence?
It could cost several years of their life in prison, lost job, and possibly lost family.
And there is a price that someone else may have to pay because of the selfishness of one who does not control their drinking.

We often hear of free stuff.
When people get free stuff that they do not pay for; you can rest assured that someone paid for what they got for free.
A company trying to promote their product might give away free samples, but it cost the company lots of money to do so.
Some seem to get free stuff from the government, but rest assured that it is not free.
The taxpayers have to foot the bill for what the politicians give away.

Few things are truly free.
The price of sin is spiritual death.
Romans 6:23 tells us the wages of sin is death.
The spiritual death is being separated from God.
Isaiah 59:2 tells us that our sins separate us from God.
Revelation 20:15 reveals that those who are separated from God will go into the second death, the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.

Now, consider the price that God paid for your sins.
God sent His Son, Jesus, to this earth to be the atoning sacrifice for your sin.
Jesus willingly died on the cross so that you do not have to pay the price for your sin.
We read in Romans 6:3 that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”
When we consider that the gift of the Grace of God may not cost us a penny, we must know that someone paid for this wonderful gift.
And Jesus did so willingly.

Now, there is also a price you must pay to be spared the pain and agony of the eternal torment reserved for you.
You must deny yourself and serve the Lord Jesus as God.
You must cease all the sins of your life and go through life the way God wants you to behave.

Conclusion
If you want to enjoy the eternal life in heaven with God:
You must obey all of God's commands.
You must leave your lusts and sinful desires behind and seek the life that will produce for you an eternal weight of glory in heaven.
Have you counted the cost of serving God?
Read Luke 14:25-33 to read about the cost to become a disciple of Jesus.
Then you must choose how much you are willing to pay for this gift of salvation.

By Carey Scott

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