Two men propose to build residences for themselves. One selects an inferior workman and inferior material; and when the flashy and flimsy structure is finished, he boasts of his good bargain. In a few years the rickety affair as tumbling to pieces above his head. The other man selects a skillful builder (whose time and brains are valuable) and excellent material, and demands thorough work. He pays a good price for a good home. “Wisdom is justified of her child,” and his children after him justify his wisdom in rearing for them a solid and durable homestead. It was in reference to such cases that the divine Teacher propounded the question, “Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost?“
Human life is character-building; for remember that “character means exactly what we are, while reputation is only what other people think we are.” Every man builds his own character; and perhaps the reader of this article may be honestly anxious to build after the Bible plan. Fix one fact in your mind, however, and that is, the better and stronger Christian you are, the more dearly you must pay for it. All the best things are costly. Jesus Christ laid down his own life to redeem you from hell. “Free grace” for you meant “Calvary for Christ.” A strong, godly character is not to be had gratis. When Paul discovered that the price of eminent spiritual power was a complete consecration to his Master, he said: “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” Henry Martyn, as his price, flung away all hope of literary distinction, and exiled himself to a pioneer mission of hardships in Persia. Glorious Livingstone did the same thing in Africa. All self-knowledge also must be bought dearly. King David paid for his by disgrace and the death of his darling child; but it gave us the 51st Psalm. Peter paid for his by his bitter agony of shame in Pilate’s courtyard. It was a great price for a great prize. Every fresh discovery that you make of your own weakness will be worth all that it costs you.
As God reckons jewelry, there is no gem that shines with more brilliancy than the tear of true penitence; yet God only knoweth what heart-pressure and what crushing of willful pride may have been necessary to force that tear to the cheek of a stubborn sinner. I have sometimes met with a person who possessed peculiarly lovable traits of gentleness, self-abnegation, and meek bravery under sharp trials. I envied such a meek character. Ah, I little knew at what a fearful price of severe chastenings, bitter disappointments and bereavements, of faith tried in a white heat of affliction, all that loveliness of character had been attained. He who would be most like Christ, must pay the cost. If a furnace is needed to purify and brighten you, do not shirk the furnace. Patience is an admirable grace, but it is not oftenest worn by those who walk on the sunny side of the street in silver slippers. It is usually the product of head—winds and hard fights, of crosses carried, and of steep hills climbed on the road to heaven. “The trial of your faith worketh patience.” So is it with all the noblest traits of a robust, healthy, and symmetrical character. No man is rocked into godliness in a hammock. Christ offers you no free ride to heaven in a cushioned parlor-car. John Bunyan sent his sturdy ”Pilgrim” to the celestial city on foot; and some pretty rough walking and hard conflicts did he encounter before the pearly portals welcomed him to the streets of flashing gold. His pity was self-denying, stalwart, and uncompromising; he relished even the stiff severities of duty, and was never coddled with confectioneries. Self—indulgence is the besetting sin of the times; but if you long to be a strong, athletic Christian, you must count the cost. It will cost you the cutting up of some old favorite sins by the roots, and the cutting loose from some entangling alliances, and some sharp “set-tos” with the tempter; it will cost you the submitting of your will to the will of Christ. Let me offer you three or four cheering encouragements.
The honest service of Jesus Christ pays the soul a rich dividend of solid satisfaction. There is no wretchedness in a true Christian’s trials; his bruised flowers emit sweet fragrance. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, and peace; the promise of the Master is that his joy shall remain with you, and your joy shall be full. The sweetest honey is gathered out of the hives of a busy, unselfish, useful, and holy life.
A man is always happy when he is right— happy in doing right, in the satisfaction of an approving conscience and the smile of God. A millionaire said to me not long ago: “There is no greater humbug than that money can make a man solidly happy; mine never did until I began to serve God and do good with it.” The more your religion costs you, my friend, the richer returns it will bring you.
While you are counting the cost of a noble and holy life, never lose sight of the fact that Jesus Christ is a partner in your undertaking. “In me is thine help;” ”My grace is sufficient for thee.” The closer you, keep that partnership, the stronger you are. He who has begun a good work in you and for you, “will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ Finally, there is a crown at the end of the conflict.
Our knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim;
But ‘t is enough that Christ knows all,
And we shall be like him”
Let me say to all my readers, that if it costs much to be a zealous and successful Christian, it will cost infinitely more to live and die an impenitent sinner. Bible religion costs self-denial; sin costs self-destruction.
To be a sober man costs self-restraint and the scoff of fools. To be a tippler costs a ruined purse, a ruined body, and a lost soul. The sensualist pays for his vices a tremendous toll. The swearer must pay for his oaths, and the Sabbath-breaker for his breach of God’s law. There is a way that seemeth pleasant to a man; but if it is not God’s way, the end thereof is death. Count the cost! Sit down calmly, my friend, and make the honest reckoning. Put into one scale some hardships, self-denials, and conflicts—and at the end of them heaven! Put into the other scale self-indulgence and a sinful life— and at the end of them hell! Weigh the two; weigh them for eternity. And while you are watching the scales, the loving Saviour will whisper in your ear the solemn question, ”What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”Matt. 16:26—Theodore L. Cuyler, D. D.
The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, September 22, 1891