I have been thinking about a term that I learned while in a college economics class, opportunity cost.
Put simply opportunity cost is the value of the next best (highest valued) choice that one gives up when making a decision. For example, you spend time and money going to a movie, you cannot spend that time at home reading a book, and you cannot spend the money on something else. If your next-best alternative to seeing the movie is reading the book, then the opportunity cost of seeing the movie is the money spent plus the pleasure you forgo by not reading the book.
This concept started to come up when thinking about Christian missions, the role of the church and ultimately my role in the big picture. Am I using my resources, my time, in a way that brings glory to God?
How much time to I spend doing things that do not really matter and because I chose to do these things, I don't have enough time for the things that really matter? Perhaps that is why Paul says in Ephesians 5:16 to make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.
Another way we can look at opportunity cost, or the actual cost of missions is in the eyes of those hurting, enslaved, lost, broken, and bound by darkness. What does it cost them when I decide not to go? What does it cost them when I decide not to speak up? What does it cost them when I purchase a new car instead of using my resources to glorify God? I pray that this perspective settles in my heart and in the hearts of those who read this.
This is just what I have been thinking about! 🙂
