Counting the Cost Part 1

I recently watched the movie "Moneyball".  The premise is simple, the GM for the Oakland A's, Billy Beane, is employing a tactic for recruiting players that doesn't make sense to anyone who is just looking at the organization and also very little sense to most of those within the organization itself.  The coach of the A's even refuses to play certain players because he thinks the moves are illogical.  About half way through the movie, things come to a head.  The A's are on a huge losing streak and Billy can't get his coach to budge on how to play the players.  So he finally decides to trade away some of the big name players in his roster to ensure that the team would be played the way he knew it needed to be played.  As he is making these trades, his assistant Pete, the one who taught him the system, begins to think that it is a poor choice and that he should rethink these trades.  The exchange that takes place here however is something that really blew me away.  Pete explains that these trades that Billy wants to make are really hard to explain and so they shouldn't do them.  Billy replies by asking the question, "Why does that matter?"  The conversation continues and Billy begins making the trades.  Pete again reminds Billy that if the system doesn't work and he goes through with these trades, that it will be career ending.  Billy begins telling his assistant all of the things that will happen if this doesn't work out.  He has clearly weighed the consequences of his decisions, but then he asks a very poignant question.  "Do you believe in this thing or not?"  He makes Pete look into himself and see if he truly believes in this system.  He then adds that he is going to see this through for better or worse.

During this conversation something really stirred within me.  In this scene, Beane has realized what it will take for him to really implement this system.  He knows that if he follows through with this decision and it fails, then he will lose everything.  After counting the cost he makes the decision to follow his beliefs whether it works out or not.  This faith that he shows is exactly the kind of faith that we need as Christians.  We should have the bold kind of faith to make the decisions that are unpopular or completely rejected.  After counting the cost we should be able to offer ourselves wholeheartedly to God's purposes.  I know that in my own life I haven't been able to truly offer all of myself to God.  I have counted the cost and often I find it to burdensome to bear.

Why is it that we hold back so often?  We seem so afraid to throw ourselves into our faith and so we hold back just enough.  I'm not saying that we need to quit our job tomorrow and go be a missionary in some foreign country, but even in the little things we hold back.  Instead of volunteering an hour on a Thurs. night helping to feed the homeless, we sit in front of a TV losing ourselves in some show that we find interesting.  We are afraid to stand up for Christ in public because we might get ridiculed or talked down to.  God is calling us to deeper levels of surrender.  He calls us to lay down the things that cloud our relationship with Him.  It is not a demand to us but rather a gentle invitation that we would be remiss to decline.  We look for satisfaction in things of this world, yet real satisfaction comes only through Christ.  It is my hope that as we count the cost we'll realize that what we're laying down is nothing compared to what we are gaining.