I asked a friend how he got over the “business start-up problems” that sometimes bankrupt new businesses. He said, “I would carefully price out a job according to equipment, products, personnel, and time needed…then I would double it! Many new businesses fail because they do not factor in the obstacles that they CANNOT see—they are always there, and they are always expensive!”
Hidden costs can ruin your travels. A “buy now and worry about it later” philosophy is guaranteed to take the shine off all those memories, photos, and souvenirs for years. The traveller is wise to take our businessman’s care for all likely costs; especially those you CANNOT see—they too are always there, and they too are always expensive!”
Jesus demands “Travel Cost Accounting.” Across the top of his ledger is written:
“So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33).
This isn’t a throwaway line to be taken or left according to personal preferences. Jesus applied it personally. He told the Rich Young Ruler that the up-front cost of travelling with him was “everything!” (Matthew 19:21). And to make sure that everybody understood that Jesus didn’t keep a slush-fund for Five-star Hotels, he told another enquirer that the foxes and birds had better expense accounts than he could expect on the road with Jesus (Matthew 8:20).
The devil is in the travel business too. His is the “Broad-Road Agency.” If you follow him, you can “eat, drink, and be merry,” and worry about the cost later. But like all misguided adventures, his hidden costs are always there, and are always expensive!
Being on the road with Jesus is serious business for you and me. We cannot afford to be hit with the hidden costs of sin. The debt repayments are staggering—guaranteed to take the shine off all that you count as blessed.
John Staiger
0 Comments