I’ve known several people who, in recent years, have opted to undergo what would be classified as elective surgery. The procedures offered the potential for significant quality of life improvements, but the fullest benefits of the procedures required the patients to either diligently rehabilitate or significantly modify behaviors following the surgeries. To some extent, if the patient wasn’t willing to put in the work or make the changes once the surgeries were performed, the patient was at risk of undermining any potential gains that the procedure had initially offered.
The surgeons have realized that the best way to ensure patient behavior after the procedure is to ask the patient to modify their behavior prior to the surgery, sometimes establishing specific health goals as benchmarks for setting a final date for surgery. Ultimately, this flows from a realization that acknowledging beforehand there is a cost associated with a procedure doesn’t mean that a person will actually then be willing to pay that price once the procedure is completed. People can be so excited about the potential for feeling better that they will happily agree upfront to put in the work once the surgery is performed, but excitement about a future outcome isn’t necessarily the most powerful motivator for behavioral modification. Therefore, the doctors use the time leading up to the surgery to see if the patient really will pay the full price required to get better, increasing the likelihood of a successful recovery.
This is the challenge of making commitments. We want to be people who keep our word, people who can be counted on to do what we say. And we so often want to say yes, because people like it when we say yes to them. However, we need to be aware that there is often a cost to saying yes, and it is very easy for us to be so focused on the potential upside that we simply glance over what it will truly require for us to realize that potential. The risk is that, when the bill comes due, we might decide at that time to back out, leaving everything worse off than when we began.
Jesus doesn’t want us jumping into situations with our eyes focused solely on the upside. He wants us to know the full cost, because we can look quite foolish and make a mess of things if we quit halfway through when the going got tough. Being a disciple of his is quite demanding, so he said to his followers “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28 ESV).
These procedures that we endure can bring about significant lasting and (in the case of becoming a disciple of Jesus) eternal benefits. And since it is often our behaviors and habits that necessitated the change, doesn’t it make sense that we would need to make those changes to ensure the effectiveness of the procedures? So take an honest assessment of your current condition, weigh the benefits of undergoing whatever procedural intervention is required, and then embrace the requisite revisions in your lifestyle. You will find that the cost is far outweighed by the benefits, and you won’t quit when the going gets tough.
Peace and blessings – Pastor Aaron