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“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
–– Matthew 13:45-46
The breathless athlete, gold medal draping her neck, stands next to the trackside broadcaster waving a microphone in her face along with that standard, but curious nonetheless, question –– “What are you feeling right now!” You’d think authenticity would compel her to spout with wheezing candor –– “How do I feel? I don’t know, like I’m going to pass out, vomit, in need of a loooong hot shower, a massage, and a nap. There’s a reason they call them endurance events, you know?”
However, with years spent dreaming of this moment, there’s enough adrenaline accompanying victory that she manages to spit out the speech she has rehearsed since grade school –– “I’m overwhelmed and grateful. I can’t believe it. All those years of training and sacrifice. The early morning workouts, the thousands of miles run, missing out on things like hanging with friends, going to prom, no Spring breaks in Cozumel, always lifting weights, pounding miles… But this medal, the support of my family, the love of the crowd … It was all worth it!!!
What is a life worth? Odds are, you won’t be parading with the athletes in any Olympics Opening Ceremony, and yet, every day you are weighing the worth of investing your life, energy, time, and focus in something. Do I have the stamina for a two-hour movie? Is the 24/7 caregiving responsibility sustainable? Can I commit to the words –– I do? Is my work, my study, my goal worth the sacrifice required?
You’ve probably heard of the term opportunity cost. It may be the only definition I clearly remember from business school. Opportunity cost is the cost of the foregone alternative. You bought the Ferrari, so you won’t be living in a house. You gave up baseball so that you could focus on the pole vault. You said I do, which means you are also committed to saying I won’t. Do you want to stick with the secure income, or shall you shift vocations with no guarantees? Fish or chicken? Fries or veggies? Accounting, teaching, nursing, or engineering?
We are constantly making choices that come with an opportunity cost. The lives of some folks will be defined and dominated by the regret of roads not taken. Many people will invest their entire being into securing some achievement, position, or possession, though once secured, they often find the victory to be hollow or pyrrhic.
Actuaries may wrestle with the impossible question of what a life is worth, but the choice we must contend is what is worth a life, your life?
Jesus is preaching to a people (including us) wired to invest according to a quantifiable rate of return, and yet, his counsel is for us to understand that when it comes to life, the investment is the rate of return. Investing our lives in the way of Christ is in itself the return on our investment, experienced in the graces and mercies and relationships and purpose that accompany the journey with Christ.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
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