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In Walden, his 1854 reflection on simple living, Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The cost of a thing is the amount…of life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately and in the long run.”   Before we buy anything, we ask ourselves, “How much does it cost?”  We know time is money.  We also know that time is life.  When we think about the cost involved in acquiring something, we must consider that “money” relates to “life.”  If I earn $15 an hour and an item costs $100, I know I will have to work several hours (more than six) in order to purchase the item.  This is true if I figure the amount of taxes that I have to pay on the money that I earn.  Time is money.  Time is life.  At the same time, the hours that I have to give of my life in order to buy that item helps me realize that “the cost of a thing is the amount of life which is required to be exchanged for it.”
An Example
Teens spend 6 to 8 hours a day on screen-based leisure activities (screen time includes:  iPhones, iPads, Computers and Television) (see The Anxious Generation, Johnathan Haidt, p. 119).  Haidt reveals the “opportunity cost” which refers to “the loss of other potential gains when one alternative is chosen over another.”  The question is: “What is lost when young people spend so much time on screen activities and leisure activities at that.  Haidt names some of the costs involved:  (1) social deprivation.  Face to face interaction with friends has decreased from 122 minutes to 67 minutes in 2019.  (2). Sleep deprivation. The lack of sleep causes anxiety, depression, irritability, poor learning, etc.; (3) Attention Fragmentation.  This problem leads to the inability to stay on task.  On average, teens receive 192 notifications per day.  This defines a day during waking hours with multiple interruptions/distractions.  (4). Addiction.  Cognitive addiction results.  As teens spend much of their time on screen-based leisure activities, at the same time, there is a loss of interest in spiritual pursuits.  No time for God in prayer.  No time for Bible reading and study.  No time to memorize Scripture.  No time for good works in helping others.  No time for God in worship.  Often the “opportunity cost” is loss of spiritual growth and well-being.
A Lesson From Jesus
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?  or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works” (Matt. 16:24-27).   Jesus develops the idea of “opportunity costs.”  What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?  The cost of a thing is the amount of life which is required to be exchanged for it.  If a person loses his/her soul (is eternally separated from God–II Thess. 1:7-9), then something else took precedence over being fully committed to God and living in covenant relationship with Him.  God is supplanted with something else.  Whatever that something else is, is our idol.  Idolatry is strictly forbidden by God (Gal. 5:19-20).  The reason is that idolatry violates the first and great commandment.  “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”  When we put something else ahead of God, we commit the sin of idolatry.  “What is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?  or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”  The only way to preserve the value of the soul is in covenant relationship to Jesus Christ (discipleship).  Jesus demands three things:  (1) self-denial; (2) cross-bearing; and (3) discipleship (follow me).  Discipleship involves a total commitment of one’s life to God.  Paul describes this as presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1-2).  Discipleship involves our whole being.  Nothing can be kept back from God.  The cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is your life–all of it!
Is It Worth It?
A second question that must be answered after we have invested in something or someone is: “Is it worth it?”   What is a man profited?  Jesus said that we might gain the whole world and lose our soul.  In view of the Second Coming of Jesus and eternity, is that a good deal?  The value of our soul is priceless.  If we accept anything, even the sum of the treasures of the world, and lose our soul, we have traded down, we have lost something profound.  Remember, to lose our soul means being eternally separated from God in hell (Mt. 5:22; 10:28).  The reward of discipleship is eternal life with God.  “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Mt. 25:46).  The cost of discipleship is fullness of commitment and consecration to God in covenant relationship with Him.  The investment returns eternal rewards!  The reward is a heavenly home with God (I Thess. 4:17).   It is going to cost us something–indeed our entire lives–to be a Christian.  But, the return on investment is out of this world–eternal life with God!