Proverbs 8: 8-11
Hebrews 11: 24-26
Luke 23: 13-25
Tradeoffs
Every day we make many, many choices. Sometimes we make tradeoffs. There is a major difference.
A few years ago, a very rich businessman decided to take a vacation to a small tropical island in the South Pacific. He worked hard all his life and decided that now was the time to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He was excited about visiting the island because he’s heard that there is incredible fishing there. He loved fishing as a young boy, but hadn’t gone in years because he had been so busy working to save for his retirement.
So on the first day, he had his breakfast and hea ded to the beach, at about 9:30 AM. There he spotted a fisherman coming in with a large bucket full of fish.
“How long did you fish for?” he asked. The fisherman looked at the businessman with a wide grin across his face and explained that the fished for about three hours every day. The businessman then asked him why he returned so quickly.
“Don’t worry”, says the fisherman, “There’s still plenty of fish out there”.
Dumbfounded, the businessman asked the fisherman why he didn’t continue catching more fish. The fisherman patiently explained that what he caught is all he needed for the day. “I’ll spend the rest of the day playing with my family, talking with my friends and maybe drinking a little wine. After that I’ll relax on the beach.”
Now the rich businessman figured he needed to teach this peasant fisherman a thing or two. So he explained to him that he should stay out all day and catch more fish. Then he could save up the extra money he made and buy even bigger boats to catch even more fish. The he could keep reinvesting his profits in even more boats and hire other fisherman to work for him. If he worked really hard, in 20 or 30 years he would be a very rich man and retire.
The businessman felt pleased that he had helped teach this simple fellow how to become rich. Then the fisherman looked at the businessman with a puzzled look on his face and asked what he would do after he became very rich and retired.
The businessman responded quickly. “You can spend time with your family, talk with your friends, and maybe drink a little wine. Or you could just relax on the beach.”
Some things need to be turned down or turned away for other more important things to be gained. That is what a tradeoff is. When we go to a grocery store for bread we have a lot of choices. We can choose one brand or another. But in the end we still go out with bread. We may go to a car dealer to buy a car and realize we cannot afford exactly what we want but we buy a different model instead. We have made a choice, but we still go off the lot with a car.
A tradeoff is very different. In making a tradeoff a person gives up something much desired for something completely different that is much more important.
In this passage Jesus says that we must make a tradeoff. We must deny ourselves in order to gain some other things. What does he mean?
Well, one example is, we might give up buying a car at all, to help a child pay college tuition. Or, if you want to pursue a certain career, you might have to deny yourself time spent on vacations to devote your time to learning what is needed for that career. A young person might deny themselves marriage, or starting a family, or even dating in some cases, to go to college. Or, he or she might give up going to college right away to take a job or go into the military gain income for college later.
In this passage Jesus says that we must make a tradeoff. We must deny ourselves in order to gain some other things. What does he mean?
Well, one example is, we might give up buying a car at all, to help a child pay college tuition. Or, if you want to pursue a certain career, you might have to deny yourself time spent on vacations to devote your time to learning what is needed for that career. A young person might deny themselves marriage, or starting a family, or even dating in some cases, to go to college. Or, he or she might give up going to college right away to take a job or go into the military gain income for college later.
Pontius Pilate offered the Jewish leaders and the crowd a tradeoff. He didn’t have to. He found Jesus had committed no crime. But he wanted to avoid problems with those leaders and the crowd. They chose Barabbas over Jesus, and Jesus went to the cross.
When Jesus told his disciples that they must deny themselves, he was saying they must deny things that were very important to them, such as time, energy, even the careers they had, to follow him. They had to be willing to give up their very lives if necessary. Eventually they all traded their lives to follow Jesus, even to death, because they had the promise of the resurrection.
When Jesus told his disciples that they must deny themselves, he was saying they must deny things that were very important to them, such as time, energy, even the careers they had, to follow him. They had to be willing to give up their very lives if necessary. Eventually they all traded their lives to follow Jesus, even to death, because they had the promise of the resurrection.
Our society and culture today gives us many choices and makes it hard to make tradeoffs. But just as Jesus called his followers to make a tradeoff, he calls us to do the same. Jesus himself made a tradeoff. He went to the cross for us. What are we willing to do for him in return? How willing are we to give him our whole lives, wherever he leads?
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