The Mad Hatter

Objection! Counting the Cost

In the film The Matrix, the vast majority of humans were living obliviously in vats controlled by computers; with stimuli fed into their minds which emulated the everyday experience of people in our world in around about the year 2000 (the film was set in about 2100). The protagonist, Neo, is offered a choice as to whether he will remain in the Matrix, or whether he will enter the real world, and in so doing, discover the nature of the Matrix. The choice comes in the selection of a blue or red pill from the hands of a character who had already escaped the Matrix, but had come back to free Neo:

"You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."

A long story short, Neo takes the red pill... and finds himself waking up in his vat; struggling to breathe and covered in slimy goo. Just when things are stabilising, the computer system realises he is now free from the matrix, and opens a chute to dispose of him into the sewer. Even after he is rescued, he needed to train his muscles, and eyes, which had never (in reality) been used. His food was no longer the pleasant varied thing it was in the Matrix, but now was simply a mush.

In such a circumstance, you would surely begin to ask yourself 'was it really worth it?' Was living in the real world, rather than being deceived by computer simulations, really worth the sacrifice of comfort? For Cipher, another character in this film, it was not. And he betrayed Neo and his friends just to re-enter again the comfort of the matrix (only to find his life terminated before he could be reinserted). The question I found myself asking was: "If I discovered that I lived in a Matrix, and fully believed that it was better to be outside the Matrix than in; would I be willing to leave it, if I knew of all the hardship that would ensue?"

There are many parallels between The Matrix and Christianity, ranging from character names to plotlines, but none of them seem quite so pronounced to me as this notion of counting the cost. Are you willing to do what it takes to fully apprehend what is true, no matter the cost? My guess is that most people, including myself, would have to answer with a 'no' to that question. Living with integrity to what you understand to be true is really really hard; especially when it means giving up the opportunity to do things which "feel good". I do not know about you, dear reader, but I frequently fail to live in accordance with my convictions; because it is so much more convenient and enjoyable to believe and act as if something else was true. And I can think of nothing more prone to this kind of disregard than one's belief in God and understanding of His will; for both the Christian and non-Christian alike.

If you are not a Christian, you may see the cost of devoting yourself to Christ as too high a cost to pay; and this may be one of the major stumbling blocks in your accepting of the offer of a relationship with Him. If you are a Christian, it may cripple the expression of your faith, and indeed, if you have not counted the cost you should; because it will cost you. If you do not see the weightiness of the cost of being a Christian, perhaps you have not yet truly perceived what it means to live the Christian life. In the exhortations of Jesus himself to his followers:

The Bible does not try to hide the fact that the cost of a proper relationship with God is hefty indeed. We have seen above that we must "hate" those to whom we are emotionally attached ["hate" as used here is not the opposite of love; but rather the willingness to do things contrary to the will of others, and yourself, to please God; for indeed we are told to honour our parents (see Matthew 15:4Matthew 15:4
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4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’

WP-Bible plugin); this is more in line with what Jesus says about the “two masters” (see Matthew 6:24Matthew 6:24
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24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.

WP-Bible plugin)] . We are told also that we must be willing to forsake everything we have. Moreover, Jesus assures us that the world will not appreciate us, if we choose to seek and follow after Him:

If we consider the example of great people of faith in the Bible; Abraham, Moses, and of course Jesus (among many others), there was always a great cost to be paid. Abraham left his comfortable home in Ur, which was quite a wealthy nation (according to archaeologists), and had to come to the point of trust in God where He would sacrifice even his only son to God (though he did not have to in the end). Moses had to return to Egypt to demand that Pharaoh, whom he had been raised with as brother, let go the people of Israel who served as slaves to the people of Egypt. And of course, Jesus gave up His very life, as many others have hitherto, and thenceforth.

Indeed, if the Bible speaks truly, then we can be reasonably expected to give over our very lives to Him at any moment. In some countries, such as North Korea and North Africa, to be a Christian is a crime punishable by death. Whilst we are on Earth, the Bible calls us to submit to the rulers of the land; and that includes the laws. If these laws prevent us from living with integrity, then we ought to controvert them; but also be prepared to face the consequences of the law. When the law commands death, that is a hefty price to pay; but for me, one worth it.... because the Bible does not stop with simply assurances of persecution and trial, and indeed the loss even of our lives is small cookies compared to the promised reward.

The Bible teaches that we were created for the pleasure of God (Revelation 4:11Revelation 4:11
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11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, TR omits “and God, the Holy One,” to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!”

WP-Bible plugin), and so God remains wilfully engaged with His creation. We were made to be in proper relationship with God; and so without this relationship, life and everything in it loses its meaning. At the end of time, God promises us that He will bring us to Heaven were we can be in loving relationship with God forever (John 14:1-4John 14:1-4
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14 ¹ “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. ³ If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. ⁴ Where I go, you know, and you know the way.”

WP-Bible plugin); and that this place will be more wonderful than we can ever hope to imagine (1 Corinthians 2:91 Corinthians 2:9
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9 But as it is written, “Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear, Which didn’t enter into the heart of man, These God has prepared for those who love him.”

WP-Bible plugin)... but the gist is revealed in passages like Isaiah 25 and Revelation 21. In Heaven we are assured peacefulness and rest; not from labour, but from the frustrations of labour. This is truly wonderful enough; but in fact, it turns out there is a flip side even to persecution: it builds perseverance, draws us into greater dependence on God (for Christians this is a good thing), and adds to our hope of the future:

Moreover, it is not all sour cookies for Christians until they die. There is to be had in this life the privilege and joy of having the Lord's favour and mercy upon you; in knowing the Holy Spirit abides within you; in community with other Christian (and indeed other people).

This reminds me of the beautiful old Hymn, "God's Promise", which meditates on the fact that God has not promised us smooth sailing; but He has promised to be with us through it:

Well... I have written a lot here; but I suppose the big point is this. Living a life devoted to following Christ will ask everything of you; but promises in return the glorious riches of living forever with the God of the universe, for whom we were designed. In the words of Christ:

And what does losing it look like? It looks like being separated forever from a loving relationship with God in a place that we call Hell. You really do not want to go there. If the above argument has not been compelling enough to shepherd you into not using the cost of Christianity as an excuse not to commit to Christ... then the reality and existence of Hell should truly push you over the line. You can read a summary of what the bible teaches about Hell here: http://bible.org/article/what-bible-says-about-hell .

It is a tough call; but if indeed Christianity is the truth; it seems to me a no-brainer as to whether you ought to submit yourself to it. But... in the words of Herbert Agar:

What then, of this? By all means do not mindlessly commit to things which subvert relationships or notions you currently have... but that does not excuse avoiding a genuine investigation into Christianity with an a-priori resolve to act in light of it. If it is damaging to what you currently possess or believe, then by all means challenge, cross-examine and investigate it very carefully, but in the end, if you believe it true; I truly believe the cost is worth it.

May we all continue to seek to live in accordance with what is true; though it is oh so very hard.

May God bless you all, Your brother in Christ ever,

Matthew