The Costs

Here I sit - at four o'clock in the morning - wide awake. My wife and I do not seem to get too much sleep these days, it is rare that either one of us get a full night of sleep. With a three-month-old, a three-year-old, a five-year-old, and an eight-year-old it seems like one of them is always awake - as if they are taking shifts throughout the night. So far tonight I have visited with three of the four!

A friend recently asked if we sleep well in our house. I responded; we sleep as much as can be expected for having four small children. And I am not complaining about the amount of sleep I get - or lack thereof. My wife and I knew what we were getting into when we decided to have multiple children. One of the "costs" of multiple children is that you must be willing to give up sleep on a regular occasion.

And, when I begin to think about it, there are several "costs" to having multiple children - but I will not begin to list them here. Yet, given all of the "costs", the benefits far outweigh the costs on any list that I could make - starring into the wide eyes of my infant daughter as she looks at me during her 3:00 feeding, singing over my other daughter as she drifts off to sleep with a bit of a smile on her face, and feeling my sons tiny toddler hand wrap my arm tightly around him as we "cuddle" in his bed. Who needs a full night of sleep when you have these gifts?

All this got me thinking about "costs". If we are not willing to face the "costs" we miss out on the gifts that wait for us. This is true in every relationship we have - friendship, marriage, parenting, and our relationship with Christ. But are we willing to face the "costs"?

Sometimes we wonder why we are not experiencing the great benefits in our relationships and yet we are not willing to face the "costs" that are required of us. Do we spend the time pouring into each of our relationships and into the people that we desire to be close to? Are we putting our money and resources into the individuals that matter the most? Are we willing to sacrifice some of the small things in order to build something that lasts?

Often the "costs" that we must face are sacrifices to us directly. We can never hope to build lasting relationships with friends, spouses, children, or Christ if we are overly focused on ourselves. Selfishness makes us more aware of the "costs" and causes us to overlook the gifts.

So let us take our focus off of ourselves and place our focus on others. And let us stop concentrating on the "costs" and begin to appreciate the gifts.

The Cost of Impulsive Decisions

The escaped convict from the Illinois prison was caught this past week (see previous post here) after being on the loose for more than 4 days. After he was captured the news stories started to come in - I am still waiting for the details of how he evaded law enforcement, helicopters, and k-9 units for more than 100 hours. One of the stories that I found particularly interesting was one in which he claims he had "no motive" in his escape;  

Illinois Department of Corrections Director of Communications Tom Shaer says Jared Carter had no motive when he walked away from the Robinson Correctional Center. He says he made an impulsive decision, bad decision to leave a minimum security prison where he had work clearance that’s now led him to a maximum security prison where life is much different. Carter has been relocated to the Pontiac Correctional Center. In the meantime, he says the DOC will review its practices and procedures. He says the DOC has two-thousand to three-thousand inmates among work camps, work details outside prison walls on prison grounds and work crews in communities and state buildings and that’s happened without incident for years. He says periodic review of all supervision and other procedures is important at all times. Carter is the first inmate to ever escape from the Robinson Correctional Center.

As I thought about his impulsive decision - and all that it will end up costing - I thought about the Christina life as well. Often we - a followers of Christ - make "impulsive decisions" that end up costing in some major ways. When we give in to peer pressure or temptation - without giving much thought to the way of God, His sacrifice for us, or His power within us - we are acting in an impulsive manner and the costs are huge. 

Just as the impulsive decision by this fugitive cost him more prison time, the loss of many of his minimum security treatment, and the loss of his work release freedoms. When we - as Christians - make impulsive decisions to sin we cost ourselves the continued connection and communion with God - there is a gap placed between us and God and we can not stand before Him righteously until we repent of our action. Further, when we act in impulsive ways we cost ourselves eternal benefits with God. 

But, the impulsive decision that was made by the prisoner did not only cost him, it also cost the city of Robinson (and many surrounding cities and communities) and the state of Illinois through the use of additional law enforcement personnel and equipment, through the "lock-down" that was placed on the schools, the closure of many businesses and organizations, the emotional stress that was placed on individuals and families, and much, much more. In this same way, our impulsive  decisions affect many, many people - our spouses, our family members, our friends, and on and on it goes. Even when we do not see the immediate results, the emotional and spiritual scars are left for years and years - generation after generation. 

So, the next time you are tempted - take a moment to think. Don't make an impulsive decision - the costs are worth considering!