Better by Counting the Cost

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’”
Luke 14:28-30 (NIV)

Every single person listening to Jesus when He said these words could resonate with them. He’s trying to teach them that spiritual growth is never a quick build. It’s not a speedy process. It’s not about cutting as many corners as one can with no attention to the building of a strong foundation and no estimation of the costs associated with it. To the contrary, Jesus is teaching that building a better life for yourself in Him is being intentional.

Building a powerful life for Christ is about estimating what it takes to live better for Him.

There is a cost to living spiritually whole and healthy. You don’t wake up in the morning with just a desire and a passion to be whole, holy, and complete. And then just because you desire it or are passionate about it, that doesn’t mean God is going to automatically deliver it to the front door of your emotionality. If you want to live whole and happy and healthy and holy, you are going to have to sit down and estimate the cost, because in order to achieve it, you are going to have to pay the cost. 

Jesus is teaching that faith doesn’t grow without spiritual estimation, intentionality, internal quality control, self-restraint, and surrendered motives. You don’t grow holy by accident. You become holy by intentionality. And that intentionality always raises the reality of what it’s going to cost you. Being a better you comes with the spiritual discipline of estimating the cost of being a better you, estimating the cost of living as a powerful Christian.

What has to be sacrificed from your life? How do you develop love and desire for things God loves and desires? And how do you develop the courage to purge from your life the things that are displeasing to God? What do you do with your career goals? How do you address your financial appetites? What do you do about your attraction to things, your material acquisition, your mental conditioning, your emotional needs, and your health status?

The best word for “cost” from the original Greek word is “assess” or “budget.” To live a powerful life in Christ, it takes more than passion, more than desire, more than drive, more than worship. All of these are necessary, notwithstanding, but the one thing that cannot be ignored is the need to count the cost. Estimate what it’s going to take in order for you to get there and then surrender to living by that necessity that comes as a budget. Determine whether or not you can really show up and offer God all that is necessary.