Puppy Lesson 1: Counting the Cost

A week ago, we brought home a new German Shepherd puppy.  We had planned it for more than four weeks, when we put a deposit on the new family member.  Before that, we thought about it a lot and I counted the cost.  I remarked to my family more than once: “Do you realize how much work this is going to be?”  I think the only one that truly understood was my wife.  Well, after a week, it is just as I expected.  She has to be carefully watched whenever she is not in her crate.  She whines in the middle of the night, waking me up to take her outside to “go potty”.  She has already interfered with some possible spontaneous plans that we could have made as a family.  Walking her is easy…a VERY slow pace.  I “run” with her.  It resembles running in place.  She is costing us time, sleep and freedom.  She doesn’t eat a lot….yet.  She weighs less than 20 pounds.  But when she weighs nearly 100 pounds, it will cost us something to feed her.  We had to buy her a crate, her own water & food dishes, and lots of chew toys.  She costs us money.

Her name is “Stormie” and she is cute.  But she is a lot of work.  She is fun to play with.  And she is a lot of work.  Her coat is soft and she can be cuddly.  Yet she requires a lot of work.  She is warm and friendly.  But did I mention that she is a lot of work?

And she is worth the work.  We chose to have a puppy, knowing that it would be both a blessing and a chore.

Most wonderful things in life cost you something.  Having a good marriage will cost you something.  Excelling at work will cost you something.  Athletes know that victory comes at a cost.  Everything worthwhile is costly.  Jesus taught that before starting any adventure that we should “count the cost.”  He even said that we should count the cost of being one of His disciples.

Have you counted the cost?  Are you willing to pay the price?  So many people accept Jesus Christ as their savior and then are reluctant to fully serve Him.  When we accept His FREE gift of salvation, it will cost us everything.  At the end of talking about the cost of being a disciple, Jesus says "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33 NIV)  We must be willing to give up everything when we come to Christ.  Most of the time, God doesn’t ask us for much.  But He might.  He may ask you to enter the ministry.  He may ask you to change jobs.  He may ask you to change your relationships.  He may ask for your money.  Are you willing to give God whatever He wants?

In life, expect the unexpected.  I have learned as a computer programmer that “It always takes longer than you expect even when you expect it to take longer than you expect.”  Builders like to say “Measure twice, cut once.”  Count the cost!