Count the Cost

by John Michalak

In the house of the righteous is much treasure, but the income of the wicked brings trouble.

Proverbs 15:6

One nice thing about money is that you can count it. You can determine its value by how much you have. Ten dollars. Twenty. A hundred. A thousand.

But, there are other things of greater value than money that are harder to count, and so are often disregarded or undervalued at our peril.

For instance, time. Sometimes money buys you time, like hiring a plumber to fix a leak that would take you hours. But in contrast, you could save hundreds on a new television not realizing that it’s about to cost you quality time with your spouse and children.

We also can value money more than our integrity. Sure, it’d be a lie to take that tax deduction, but a fat refund check would sure come in handy. Sure, it feels great to have this year’s model in the driveway or to let your friends see all those new outfits, but is that worth working two jobs to pay off your mountain of credit card debt?

A life of happiness and contentment comes from understanding that most real treasure lies in things other than money and status—time, family, integrity, freedom. You may not be able to count their value in increments of 10s and 20s, but when you sell them away to increase your bottom line, your life may have no value at all.