Sabbath Thought – What Would You Pay?

We increasingly live in a world where the cost of something is not the primary consideration in purchasing it. Most people purchase things on payment plans so they can have the item now. I am old enough that I remember a time when credit didn’t exist for the average consumer. My parents would purchase items on a layaway plan. A layaway plan involved shopping for the items you wanted to purchase but didn’t have the total amount in cash to finalize the purchase. The store would hold the items for you and weekly payments were made toward the total amount. Once the total amount was made in payment, then you could take home the items.

All of that began to change in the 1970s when credit cards began to become more common. Now a person could purchase items immediately on credit. The store was paid at the purchase, but the consumer now owed a bank for the “loan” in the form of monthly payments that accumulated interest. Buy now, pay later launched the consumerism we are all familiar with today.

But the lack of counting the total cost of things doesn’t stop with every day purchases. Now we buy a new cell phone for a few dollars a month with the total cost of the phone spread out over two or three years. Most people would not purchase a phone that costs $1,000 if they had to pay that all at once. The same can be said for the now common subscription model of car washes, computer software, streaming music services, and many other such services. Did you consider the total cost involved before buying your last car? What about your house? These are major purchases, but many people don’t consider the ongoing costs of such purchases.

What about our spiritual calling? Did we count the cost of that calling (Luke 14:28) before baptism? There is a cost in that we had to be willing to walk away from the attractive (but even more costly) things of this world. Personal or public activities that take place on the Sabbath are forsaken – are we willing to lose friends or family over such a decision? If our job asks us (or even requires us) to work on the Sabbath or a Holy Day we refuse – are we willing to lose extra pay or even the job itself for not working on God’s Holy time? The list could go on, but while there may not be a monetary loss, there is a price from what we “give up.”

We don’t look at our calling in a spreadsheet analysis, but we should nonetheless consider the cost – and the return. Most people want success in life, but what defines success varies from individual to individual. Defining goals to achieve success can be easy. Everyone wants a big reward in life, but most don’t achieve the success they desire because they don’t consider (or won’t pay) the cost associated with that success – the money it takes, the time it takes, and what they have to give up in other areas to achieve their success. It comes down to answering the question: “What am I willing to pay?” This is the discourse from Jesus that we have in Luke 14:26-33.

But we also have a promise of a “return” for the things we forsake in this life for our calling. We are promised to receive “a hundredfold” back for what we give up (Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:30) whether it is property, family, or more – and even “loses” from persecution. What we are promised in return is eternal life! The “cost” for eternal life is to become like Christ. That is our goal, but are we willing pay the price? Are we willing to forsake everything in life that doesn’t help us achieve that goal?

We read in Luke 12:32 that it is God’s good pleasure to give us His Kingdom. What are you willing to pay for that?

I wish you a very meaningful Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

1 November, 2025