Opportunity Cost

In economics class in college we learned about a term that economist use when studying how people make decisions. This term is opportunity cost, which is defined as "the cost of any activity measured in terms of the value of the next best alternative forgone (that is not chosen)." You could say that it's what you have to give up in order to get or do something else.

Twice a week, a group of men at our church, Hocutt Baptist in Clayton, NC get together for prayer, encouragement and accountability. Every Wednesday at 6am and Saturdays at 7:30am men gather in community to share prayer requests: hardships at work, struggles at home, loved ones with illnesses or people that we have bumped into throughout the week that are in need of the Gospel. Also shared are encouraging stories where we have seen the Lord work in our lives, answered prayers or revealed himself to us through His word that week or through a situation. These are times of great encouragement for me. 

 I am usually the youngest one there, with the least experience in marriage, no experience with children of my own and only a little experience in the working world. This was rarely the case growing up, where most of the time in my peer group I was usually the one who (at least appeared to) have it all together and was always ready to counsel others, but never needed help. But I have been learning over the past few years how broken I am and the more I open up about needing a) the Gospel and b) a community of believers (especially other men) around me to build me up and encourage me there is freedom in vulnerability. These men at the meetings who are elders, deacons grandfathers or new dads are willing to be honest about things that are hard in their lives and how they need advice, prayer and encouragement.

This has been a blessing for me to experience this community and the willingness of these men to share and let others into their lives. I have been reading a book by Crawford Loritts called Leadership as an Identity and the first section of the book is labeled "Brokenness" and he defines it as "a conscious, core awareness that you need God in all things" and he spends a third of the book on this subject. Randy Alcorn, another writer says that brokenness is "more than just periodic times of intense emotional experience, it's an ongoing sense of inadequacy." The more time I spend around these men at church in these prayer groups, the more I see brokenness in their lives and in my own, yet where that brokenness abounds, healing and salvation through the Gospel abounds all the more.

So for the men in these groups, on these Wednesday and Saturday mornings, they could probably choose to get an extra hour of sleep, an extra hour of SportsCenter or maybe knock out some some yard work around the house, but they choose to spend it communion with the Lord and other men and experience the Gospel in community. They have counted the costs and to them it is worth what they have to give up. And I am grateful to be a part of it.