THE CBA ATTITUDE

My wife and I were in the car the other day when I had lamented to her aboutthe general apathy and lack of zeal amongst Christians today. I noted that manyof us would spare no effort to do well at our secular work and will go theextra mile to upgrade ourselves whenever necessary, and yet when it comes tospiritual things, most are tardy. Why is this the case? Even as my theologicalmindset pointed a finger at indwelling sin, my better half rejoined withouthesitation: “Don’t you understand? It is the CBA attitude.”

For a moment I was dumbfounded. Despite an inbred Singaporean penchant foracronyms, I had never heard about CBA. But the way that my wife said it soundedas if it is something so familiar that ignorance is astonishing. “What’s CBA?”I queried sheepishly. She replied almost incredulously: “Cost-Benefit Analysis!We do that all the time!” It did not take me long to realise what she meant.

We explored the idea for some distance so that by the time we reached ourdestination, I was convinced that I have to write an article with that title—mywife’s chagrin notwithstanding! I am convinced that the CBA attitude doesindeed have a very powerful, if unconscious, influence on how many of usconduct ourselves in materialistic Singapore.

Defining the Terms

Before we go any further, it is necessary that we define the terms in theacronym. In the first place, cost is a very subjective andrelative concept. But in general, when we think about cost, we think aboutprice or opportunity. When we buy something, it costs because we give somethingup in exchange for it. The money with which we use to buy it could be used forsomething else. When we spend time to do something, it costs because we coulduse the time to do something else. But, of course, we must bear in mind that inreality, cost takes intangible forms, such as health, honour and respect too.

In the second place, benefit speaks about what we obtain orderive from the purchase, investment of time, or sacrifice in terms of theintangible costs. When we purchase something, we are essentially trading costfor benefit, where the cost is the price of what is purchased, and the benefitis what is obtained, be it ownership of something hitherto not belonging to us,or pleasure of some sort. When we work for an employer, by our investment ofour time, we obtain benefit in terms of wages. When we spend time to exercise,we obtain the benefit of good health, etc.

Now, in the third place, cost-benefit analysis involvesanalysing the cost-benefit trade off and making decisions based on our verdictof profitability. Experience and the light of nature teach us that, in general,we would always choose to do what we perceive to be more beneficial thancostly, or, in other words, what is cost-effective. And conversely, we areinhibited from doing certain things because the cost is too high in that it istoo expensive, or we may loose our honour, or we may be punished, or ourconscience may give us pain, etc.

Now, occasionally, after making a cost-benefit analysis, we may think that thecost overwhelms the benefits, but for some reasons, we go ahead to lay down thecost. In this case, we would call it a sacrifice. A mother mayregard herself to be sacrificing her career for the sake of her children. A husbandmay regard himself as sacrificing his recreation for the sake of doing somehousework, which he believes should be done by his wife. We will return to thisconcept of sacrifice later. But if we think for a moment, we will quicklyrealise that no mere man will make any real sacrifice although we may perceiveourselves to be sacrificial. The mother in question, in the final analysis,does consider the benefit of her staying at home a greater benefit than goingto work. It may be that the benefits come by way of pleasure of seeing herchildren grow to fear and love the Lord. It may be that her husband is pleasedwith her. It may be that she knows she is pleasing the Lord. Whatever the casemay be, these things would have been considered in her cost-benefit analysis(and indeed, she would have analysed correctly) and therefore it is not reallya sacrifice on her part to stay at home. The same may be said of the man whodecides to do housework instead of recreating himself.

We Do that All the Time

We may not realise it, but in reality, as finite rational creatures, all ourdecisions in life, not just the big ones, and not just those that have to dowith purchases and use of our times, are based on our analysis of thecost-benefit trade off.

We would always do what we perceive to be the most desirable course of actionat any moment. Why do we eat when we do? We eat because we believe at themoment that it would satisfy our hunger or that it is pleasurable to eat at themoment. On the other hand, if we have just taken a sumptuous dinner, we mayrefuse to take another bite, because we feel full and any additional food willadd to our discomfort rather than satisfaction. On a weekday morning, we maygrudgingly drag our feet to work or to school. We may think we have no choice.But the fact is that we have. We could choose not to go and so face theconsequences. But we go because, in our analysis, we find that it is notworthwhile to play truant or to fail to turn up for work without reason. Thecost is simply too great: whether it be torment in conscience where we have agood sense of responsibility, or lost of wages where we are daily rated, orpunishment, as the case may be.

In all that we do, we have a choice. Choice is available even in the classiccase when a person is held at gun-point with the question: “Your money or yourlife?” He can choose to hand over his money if he believes that it is morebeneficial to live on. On the other hand, he could also choose to die if hefeels that he would rather not live if he had to part with his hard-earnedsavings.

We may say that all our decisions in life, whether secular orspiritual, good or bad, will be based on our cost-benefit analysis of thechoices confronting us. Eve took of the forbidden fruit because she believedSatan, that the fruit was able to make one wise (Gen 3:6). Joseph refused theadvances of Potiphar’s wife because the cost of sinning against God would betoo great (Gen 39:9). Judas Iscariot betrayed the Lord because he had perceivedthe thirty pieces of silver were worth more than the Lord’s friendship orblessing. Peter denied the Lord because he perceived his reputation and life tobe more important than his relationship with the Lord at that point of time.Paul refused to heed his companions’ persuasion not to go to Jerusalem (Acts 21:12–13) because the cost ofimprisonment was insignificant compared to the joy of seeing the Gospelfurthered and Christ’s name magnified.

CBA in Christian Life

Indeed, the entire conduct of our Christian life must, in some sense, be shapedby a spiritual cost-benefit analysis. The Lord Jesus teaches this doctrine whenHe says:

For which of you, intending to builda tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he havesufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and isnot able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This manbegan to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make waragainst another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be ablewith ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Orelse, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, anddesireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsakethnot all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple (Lk 14:28–33).

This passage has often been inadequately interpreted as teaching only a call tocount the cost before becoming a disciple of Christ. Actually,verse 33 (and verses 26–27) should indicate to us the fact that the Lord wasspeaking of counting the cost in comparative terms rather than absolute terms.In other words, He is not saying that we should sit down merely to total up howmuch it would cost to be a disciple. The Lord is teaching us to evaluate to seeif we would perceive the benefit of having Christ as being worth the cost ofbearing our cross and forsaking all that we have. In a sense he is telling usthat if we do not find it to be worthwhile to follow Him even if it meansforfeiture of life and property, then we cannot be His disciples.

In many ways, this evaluation must be carried out throughout our Christianlife. Many things in this world will clamour for our attention, and willcompete for our time for, and affection with, the things of God. We have only24 hours each day, and a limited strength and material resources, which we haveto apportion wisely. The cost of having a time of personal Bible reading andprayer each day may mean less time to sleep, less time for play or less time tospend with the children, etc. There is a cost for attending prayer meeting inthat the same time could have been used for recreation or visitations or evenself-improvement night classes. There is a cost for lending a hand to someonein need, for it will mean time and energy investment. There is a cost forgiving an offering to the Lord for the same amount of money could have beenused for investment or for pleasure. There is cost for maintaining a Christiantestimony at work, because it may mean forfeiture of our promotion because ourrefusal to work on the Sabbath may easily be misconstrued as being disloyal tothe company, or of putting personal interest above the company’s interest. Butthe disciple of Christ, doing a cost-benefit analysis with the mind of Christ,will consider these costs to be negligible compared to the eternal weight ofglory and heavenly blessings. How could costs that are temporal and perishablebe regarded as too great for benefits which are eternal?

It is in this sense, particularly, that it is wrong to speak about sacrificingfor Christ (do not mistake Roman 12:1 in which Paul’s emphasis is totalconsecration rather than sacrifice, as in giving of ourselves for little or nobenefit). How could we be sacrificing when, for some temporal and finite costs,we receive infinite and eternal benefits? Only Christ may be said to have trulysacrificed Himself, for God who is perfect has no need of us whatsoever.

CBA Awry

Bearing in mind that our choices are always bounded to our inclinations or towhat we consider to be of the greatest benefits at the point of choice, we haveto conclude that there are times when our choices are wrong. Our choices arewrong when we analyse the cost-benefit equation wrongly and so take a wrongcourse of action based on our erroneous judgment. A salesman at the door maypersuade you to purchase a vacuum cleaner which has multiple functions,including shampooing the carpet, exterminating termites and cutting grass. Youare convinced that the exorbitant price is worth it for such a wonderful vacuumcleaner and so you bought it. Later as you think about your purchase, yourealised that you have been conned, for you live in a HDB flat! You mayconclude then that you have made the wrong choice based on a wrong analysis ofcost-benefit.

We do not make this kind of mistakes too often. Or at least, our mistakes, asthey pertain to the things of this world, are generally not so costly. However,the same may not be said of our mistakes when it comes to our cost-benefitassessments that involve spiritual cost and benefits. When we fall into sin, weare really overestimating the benefits of the temporal pleasures, which thelust of our flesh promises, and belittling the cost of sin and the wrath of Godagainst sin. Similarly, when we have to make a choice between spending time forspiritual exercises or bodily recreation, then choosing the latter will oftenbe wrong, objectively speaking, since “godliness is profitable unto all things,having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Tim4:8). There are, of course, always extenuating circumstances, for we are bothcorporeal and spiritual: if we neglect our bodies, our souls may be affectedtoo. But if we think about it, we will realise that, in most cases, our choicesof bodily recreation against attendance at the means of grace are due to afaulty analysis of the cost-benefit equation.

But why do we make such mistakes? The root cause is, of course, indwelling sin.But we cannot excuse ourselves based on indwelling sin, for we have theresponsibility of making right choices in our lives too (Josh 24:15; Mt 6:33,etc.). But if it is so clear that spiritual benefits have eternal values and sooutweigh temporal benefits, why do we make wrong choices?

Let me suggest five possibilities. Firstly, I believe, that many of us are sodulled in our minds, because of the care of the world, that we simply driftalong with the world without really thinking about how we are using the talentsthat God has assigned us. But secondly, let me suggest that we often allowSatan to take advantage of our remaining corruption by which our understandingremains in partial darkness and our hearts in partial blindness (cf. Eph 4:18;Heb 3:12–13; 2 Cor 11:3). When this happens, we simply do not think asrationally as we ought to, and so choose the poor substitutes. Thirdly, I amcertain that many of us simply lack the faith to believe that spiritualbenefits outweigh by far the temporal costs involved in obtaining them. Fourthly,I am quite sure that few of us really believe that “It is more blessed to givethan to receive” (Acts 20:35), especially when what we are giving is intangibleand so may receive no visible response, such as in the case of worship inspirit and truth. Fifthly, many of us will not admit it, but most of us aresimply antinomians: living without regards to the laws of God, so that, forexample, the Fourth Commandment does not even figure in our cost-benefitconsideration of how to spend the Lord’s Day.

It is particularly the combination of the latter four problems that gives riseto what my wife called the CBA attitude. You see, most of us, in materialistic Singapore, do consciouslymake cost-benefits analysis in the use of our time and talents. We need only tosearch our hearts to know that this is the case. However, because our minds aredarkened by sin, by the love of the world, and by unbelief, we would often(consciously or unconsciously) attribute a very low value to the glory of God,and to spiritual benefits, if we bring them into consideration at all.

In other words, many of us are still thinking largely in terms of temporalbenefits, such as wealth, status and possession. These are the things, which wemay reap immediately. These are the things that we can see or handle very soonafter our investment of talent and time. Five hours a week spent attendingnight class is more or less guaranteed to reap a degree after a couple ofyears. Working overtime may reap overtime pay, or the satisfaction of havingcompleted an assigned project or at least recognition of being hardworking bythe boss, which will accrue to a future promotion.

Spiritual benefits, on the other hand, are intangible and hoped-for rather thanavailable immediately, for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). Pauldoes indeed speak of godliness “having promise of the life that now is” (1 Tim4:8). But these benefits are often unseen, unrecognised and unfelt. Thus, manyof us are quick to excuse ourselves from them, and would rather make use of ourtime and talents for investments with tangible and more immediate benefits.

Conclusion

Beloved, I write all these not simply to tickle our minds as we ponder on thegeneral lethargy that is plaguing the church of Christin our age. I write all these that we may know our own heart’s condition, thatour minds may be renewed to think differently, that we may withstand the wilesof the devil.

There are, of course, many other factors that determine our decisions andchoices, such as whether we truly love the Lord more than the world; such asour present circumstantial limitations pertaining to children and work; andsuch as the ability or inability of the minister to preach messages that areconsidered worthwhile to hear. But whatever the case may be, I am sure that askewed attitude of cost-benefit analysis is one of the ways in which many of usare being led astray rather naïvely.

Now, I am naïve to think that with this skewed attitude of cost-benefitanalysis infecting so many of our minds, that this article will be read by asufficient number of us to justify the hours put into it. In a certain sense, Iam even more naïve to think that those who really need to read this and bechallenged by it, will read it to this point or be challenged by it at all.

But I believe that the love of Christ will prevail and the Holy Spirit willillumine and convict all who are His. As long as there is a glimmering of faithin a professing believer, I will not give up; for I desire the glory of God,and I covet His best for His children whom Christ has redeemed. I will prayuntil Christ be formed in him (Gal 4:19). I will pray till he sees that it ismore blessed to give than to receive. I will pray till he begins to live witheternity in view. I will provoke and encourage until his life is transformed bythe renewing of his mind. Beloved, will you not join me to pray and to “exhortone another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardenedthrough the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if wehold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end” (Heb 3:13–14).

—JJ Lim