Sunk Costs

2 Chronicles 25:9 And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel?...

Here’s the situation in 2 Chronicles 25.  Amaziah is the new king of Judah – the southern kingdom from David’s royal line that was a bit better and lasted a bit longer than Israel, the northern kingdom that really fell away after false gods right from the get go.

The first thing Amaziah did as king was kill the servants that had killed his father.  Good move.  (The chapter even notes that contrary to the practice of the day but in keeping with the law of Moses, he spared their children.) 

The next thing he did was hire 100,000 mercenaries from Israel to go help him fight against Edom.  Bad move.  God was not at all with Israel (that bunch of idolaters).  So the Lord sends an un-named man of God to tell King Amaziah that to go to battle with these guys would be to seal his own fate. 

Amaziah’s response is, “But I’ve already paid them 100 talents!”  Verse 9 continues,

…And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this. 

This passage reminded me of a principle I learned in economics called a sunk cost.  A sunk cost is a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be reversed and is irrelevant to present and future financial decisions.  The principle is important to understand because making decisions on the basis of sunk costs (trying to recover what cannot be recovered) will always end up costing more and hurting worse in the long run.  To treat a cost as sunk and move on is an important step toward minimizing loss.   

In Amaziah’s case, going to battle with the 100,000 mercenaries he had hired would have ended up costing him more than the 100 talents he had already paid them. 

I believe this has some parallels to the Christian life.  It’s not uncommon for people to get saved or get right with God or sell out to the Lord having invested years of their lives or thousands of dollars on something they come to realize as either wrong, or just worthless.  And the temptation is to ask what Amaziah asked.  “What shall I do for the 100 talents…”  But the answer is, “The LORD is able to give thee much more than this.”  It’s a sunk cost.  It’s in the past.  It’s gone.  Don’t let it factor in to the decision you have to make at this present moment.  Just let the Lord take care of it.   

Forget what’s behind.  Reach forth for what’s before.  And press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Eternal Vision

Ecclesiastes 7:15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.

Ecclesiastes 8:14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

Ecclesiastes is written from an entirely earthly perspective, dealing with all things “under the sun.”  Yet it reminds us why it is that we must live our lives with eternity in view.

1.  All is vanity.  That which is temporal, that which is material, that which gratifies the flesh – it’s empty, it’s hollow, it doesn’t last.  That’s the testimony of a man who tried it all.

2.  If this life is all there is, then sometimes it doesn’t seem like God settles all accounts.  Why do right if all you get for doing right is hardship and grief?  Because even if (and that’s a big if) that’s all you get down here, that’s not all you get for doing right.  Why resist the lusts of the flesh if I can indulge them – and enjoy it?  Because even if that season in which there’s pleasure in sin lasts your entire life (and that’s a big if), your life is nothing in light of eternity.  God might not settle all accounts here and now, but God does settle all accounts. 

That’s why we walk by faith and not by sight.  We have to have faith to look beyond this temporal realm and believe that obeying God and doing right and striving against sin is worth it, even though sometimes it just doesn’t look like that’s the case, as we live down here under the sun. 

Jonathan Edwards asked God to stamp eternity on his eyes.  May that be our prayer today.  

Back At It

Ephesians 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 

Well, it’s been exactly 4 months since I lasted posted to the blog. 

It’s not that I haven’t been reading my Bible and getting something from it… 

And it’s not that I haven’t intended to pick it back up probably every single week for the last 4 months… 

It’s just that as a husband (about 4.5 years), father (almost 15 months), and youth pastor/assistant pastor (over 3.5 years), I’ve still got a lot to learn about so many things, one of which is time management and prioritization.   

It’s not that I haven’t been busy.  It’s not that at all.  But when I think of that as an excuse I’m reminded of people I know who have a LOT more on their plate than I do and still make the time to do whatever it is that God has given them.  (particularly reminded of this when I get the “Encouraging Words” posts from www.caryschmidt.com) 

So, I’ve got a stack of papers in my Bible with verses and thoughts and lists and studies to look into and write about.  Looking forward to getting back at it.  Hope some will follow along.  Trust we’ll all either start or continue to PRESS toward the mark (Phil 3:14) and follow HARD after God (Ps 63:8).

Brother David

The Antidote for Complaining

Numbers 11:1-2 And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched.

Two very brief and very basic lessons from this passage of scripture:

1.  Complaining displeases God. 

2.  Prayer is the antidote for complaining.

We could all stand to do much less of the former and much more of the latter. 

John 18:4

John 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth…

That’s a powerful statement.  If Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, then long before He ever left heaven’s glory to put on a body and enter this world at Bethlehem’s manger, He knew all things that should come upon him.  And yet He went forth. 

Passover

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When it comes to OT typology, I need help.  I enjoy it.  I just usually need somebody to show me, because I rarely see these things for myself. Here are some notes from Brother James’s Old Testament Survey book on the Passover lamb of Exodus 12. 

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

Diligence

I believe that one of the greatest sins of modern-American Christianity is the sin of laziness.  We’re just not willing to work as hard as we’re going to have to work in order to reach our potential – in almost any area.  And of those who are willing to work hard and do what it takes to be successful in their endeavors, few seem to invest that drive and energy and devotion to spiritual matters.

What we need is some good, old-fashioned diligence – in our spiritual lives.