Trade offs

Thomas Sowell is a fascinating person. If you have never heard of him, please look him up. Regardless, I suggest you watch the documentary on Amazon (and elsewhere) and you will probably learn even more than you already knew.

Just to be clear, I have only started watching it. My wife gave me notice by her rumblings that it was time for bed at 10pm last night so I stopped it about 20 minutes in. Wise man, I know.

In summary, he is an economics genius but one who deals only with facts. He is also a world traveler and studier of the geography as it relates to economic factors. He is controversial because of his direct communication style and refusal to be drawn into emotional appeals.

The one thing he said I want to focus on though is this idea of a trade off.

You probably know the term but it means a balancing of factors all of which are not attainable at the same time or in other words a giving up of one thing in return for another (Meriam-Webster Dictionary).

This morning though I am stunned about how deep the well goes regarding this issue of trade offs. It is strange that I am so caught off guard by this honestly. Why?

Because I have lived with them all my life.

It is how things work down here on earth. Let me illustrate with some real life examples.

When was the last time you tried to buy or even build the “right” house? Did you find that you had to pick between things you wanted? I am in the process right now of looking for a new home. It’s downright amazing all the factors to consider in this process and the trade offs I am having to make.

There are decisions about Finances, Location, Layout, and then the all important aesthetics. Building a house is even more complicated from what I understand! I hear choosing materials alone can be a nightmare if you have the benefits of customizing your kitchen!!

How about when you were looking for the perfect college for your kids? It was the same sort of issues with the house thing wasn’t it!

The thing is though it’s not just in buying houses, chooses colleges, or taking a vacation.

Trade offs are embedded in biological systems, mechanisms of all types, ecological systems and nature, body layout of every living thing, and the universe itself too!

The reason is that we live in balanced universe.

The Bible lays out clearly in narrative form that God created this universe. We also know because of the complexity of this creation that he had a design in mind first. Not sure how it works exactly with a God who is outside of time but that is a post for another time.

I do know the Bible says that God sent his one and only Son into the world to save it not to condemn it.

In essence, He traded His life for mine. So the smart trade off is for me to give Him control of my daily decisions and choices.

After all, He will keep my paths straight and me balanced as I walk the rest of this journey called my life here on earth.